THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 
RESEARCH  BULLETIN 


NOS.  1 AND  2 


No.  ijf'fol 

SOME  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  HABITS 
AND  PLACENTATION  OF 
TATU  NOVEMCINCTUM 


..  „ MWGlClfy  i 

No.  2 

A SUGGESTED  CLASSIFICATION  OF 
EDENTATES 


Ms* 


BY 

H.  H.  LANE 

Professor  of  Zoology  and  Embryology 


NORMAN 

The  University  Press 
October  30,  1909 


ANNOUNCEMENT 

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;S:?A.  Y 


PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE 

D.  W.  OHERN,  Chairman 

J.  % BUCHANAN  JEROME  DOWD 

HENRY  MEIER  VcgA  /'  r H.  H.  LANE 
T.  IT  BREWER 

The  Committee  does  not  assume  responsibility  for  the 
contents  of  the  RESEARCH  BULLETIN.  Each  author  is 
to  be  given  entire  credit  for  his  own  subject-matter. 


THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 
RESEARCH  BULLETIN 

NOS.  1 AND  2 


No.  1 

SOME  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  HABITS 
AND  PLACENTATION  OF 
TATU  NOVEMCINCTUM 


No.  2 

A SUGGESTED  CLASSIFICATION  OF 
EDENTATES 


BV 

H.  H.  LANE 

Professor  of  Zoology  and  Embryology 


NORMAN 

The  University  Press 
October  30,  1909 


* 


c 

(y'M'UAh. 

\M»  A-  ^ 


No.  1 

SOME  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  HABITS 
AND  PLACENTATION  OF 
TATU  NOVEMCINCTUM 


i.. 

V 


82420  I 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/no1someobservati00lane 


5 


SOME  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  HABITS  AND 
PLACENTATION  OF  TATU  NOVEMCINCTUM..  * ** 

H.  H.  Lane. 

A group  of  animals  which  has  not  received  the  attention 
it  deserves  is  that  ordinarily  termed  the  EDENTATA.  By 
most  authors  it  has  been  accorded  a lowly  place  among  the 
Mammalia  on  account  of  several  peculiarities  of  structure, 
notably  the  usually  non-convoluted  condition  of  the  cerebrum, 
the  rudimentary  corpus  callosum,  the  partial  or  total  lack  of 
teeth,  and,  in  some  species  at  least,  a very  generalized  type  of 
reproductive  organs.  More  recently  there  has  appeared  a 
growing  tendency  to  regard  certain  of  these  characteristics 
not  as  evidences  of  a primitive  condition,  but  rather  as  ex- 
pressions of  adaptive  specialization  and  hence  indicative  of 
a higher  position  than  that  usually  accorded  the  order  In 
fact,  it  is  more  than  likely  that  the  various  species  of  living 
Edentates,  in  the  old  sense  of  this  term,  are  scattered  rem- 
nants of  what  was  once  a large  and  widely  distributed  group, 
so  greatly  diversified  as  to  transcend  the  limits  of  a 
single  order. 

In  the  light  of  these  facts  it  is  rather  surprising  that  so 
little  is  known  concerning  the  anatomy,  habits,  or  distribution 
of  that  species  of  armadillo  which  constitutes  the  only  living 
representative  of  Edentates  native  to  the  United  States.  This 
is  the  Nine-banded  Armadillo,  Tatu  novemcinctum 
(Linn.),  which  Bailey  (1)  considers  a subspecies,,  texanum, 
the  Texan  armadillo,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  more  typical 
form  living  farther  to  the  south  in  old  Mexico.  It  is  quite  com- 
mon in  southern  Texas  from  the  Gulf  coast,  between  the  Rio 
Grande  and  Matagorda  Bay,  up  the  Pecos,  Neuces,  Colorado, 
and  Brazos  River  valleys  as  far  north  as  Austin  and  Llano 
and  occasionally  to  Breckenridge  in  Stephens  County,  and 

* Contribution  No.  2,  from  the  Department  of  Zoology  and  Embry- 
ology, State  University  of  Oklahoma. 

**  For  preliminary  note,  see  Science,  N.  S.,  vol.  xxix,  No.  748,  April 

30,  1909,  p.  715. 


6 


southeastward  to  Antioch,  Houston  County,  in  the  valley  of 
the  Trinity  River.  On  the  west  it  has  been  taken  in  Loving 
County,  near  the  New  Mexico  line.  It  is  reported  to  me  as 
very  common  around  Uvalde.  Bailey  records  the  general 
belief  “that  they  are  spreading  eastward  and  northward,” 
which,  if  true,  is  a rather  unusual  condition  of  things.  One 
would  expect  it  to  disappear  before  the  rapid  advance  of  hu- 
man settlement,  especially  as  its  flesh  is  regarded  as  an  excell- 
ent article  of  diet,  its  armored  skin  is  being  turned  into  bask- 
ets at  the  rate  of  several  thousand  a year,  and  its  reputation 
as  a robber  of  freshly  made  graves  leads  to  a more  or  less  per- 
sistent persecution.  Whatever  may  be  the  truth  regarding 
this  accusation,  its  burrowing  habit  is  forcibly  suggested  by 
possession  of  long  strong  claws  on  its  fore  feet  and  by  the  ex- 
cessively developed  musculature  of  the  thoracic  and  upper 
arm  regions. 

Early  in  April,  1908,  through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  C.  F. 
Darnall,  a physician  of  Llano,  Texas,  the  writer  came  into  the 
possession  of  a living  adult  female  armadillo  of  this  species, 
which  had.  been  taken  a few  days  previously  near  the  town 
mentioned.  In  captivity  this  specimen  was  a most  harmless 
and  inoffensive  creature.  It  made  no  attempt  to  defend  itself 
in  any  way  except  by  “humping”  its  back  and  “bucking”  like 
a broncho.  This  motion  was  so  violent  that  it  was  almost  im- 
possible to  pick  up  the  creature  while  the  movements  were  in 
progress.  Additional  protection  was  afforded  by  the  smoothly 
worn  condition  of  the  carapace  which  rendered  one’s  hold  all 
the  more  precarious.  Whenever  an  attempt  was  made  to  hold 
it  or  to  drive  it  from  one  place  to  another  it  indulged  in  a ser- 
ies of  grunts  very  closely  resembling  the  sounds  made  by  do- 
mestic swine  when  threatening  an  attack.  This,  with  a slight 
squeal  of  fright  or  pain,  constituted  the  only  vocal  sound  made 
by  this  individual  while  under  observation.  It  made  no  at- 
tempt to  roll  itself  up  into  a ball,  as  it  has  been  reported  to  do, 
but  rather  flattened  itself  out  on  the  floor  leaving  no  part  of 
its  unprotected  ventral  surface  exposed. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  April  23,  it  gave  birth  to  four 
young,  which  averaged  about  25  cm.,  in  length  from  tip  to  tip. 


7 


The  mother,  owing  doubtless  to  her  imprisonment,  would 
have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  young  ones,  and  an  at- 
tempt to  rear  them  by  hand  proved  a failure  within  a few  days. 
Except  for  size  and  color,  they  were  identical  in 
appearance  with  the  adult.  The  dermal  armor,  of  course,  was 
not  so  hard,  and  the  color  was  much  lighter,  being  a light 
brown  or  brownish  yellow,  whereas  the  mother  was  more  of  a 
drab  or  gray.  The  long  tail  was  about  two  thirds  the  length 
of  the  body.  The  nine  bands  of  movable  plates  were  even  more 
distinctly  differentiated  in  the  young  than  in  the  adult.  A com- 
parison of  the  number  of  these  movable  plates  in  the  mother 
and  the  young  gave  the  following  results : 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

Totals 

Mother 

61 

59 

61 

61 

60 

60 

63 

61 

61 

547 

I 

60 

62 

61 

59 

61 

60 

64 

64 

65 

556 

II 

63 

63 

62 

62 

62 

61 

65 

66 

64 

568 

III 

63 

62 

63 

61 

62 

60 

64 

65 

66 

566 

IV 

63 

63 

62 

58 

61 

62 

63 

63 

64 

559 

The  significance  of  these  figures  is  discussed  below  in  an- 
other connection. 

The  mammae  of  the  mother  were  four  in  number,  one 
pair  pectoral  and  the  other  inguinal  in  position.  The  secre- 
tion in  this  case  was  almost  nil,  probably  due  to  the  conditions 
of  confinement.  The  number  of  young  and  the  number  of 
mammae  (four)  coinciding  may  indicate  the  probable  number 
of  young  usual  to  a litter  in  this  species  of  armadillo.  This  con- 
clusion is  strengthened  by  the  observation  of  another  litter  of 
four  born  in  captivity  on  or  about  April  21  of  this  present  year 
(1909),  but  from  a different  mother.  Both  A.  Milne-Edwards 
(14)  and  Koelliker  (11)  report  finding  four  embryos  in  utero, 
in  this  species.  In  a recent  paper  Newman  and  Patterson  (15) 
make  the  statement  that  “there  are  always  four  embryos,  cor- 
responding in  number  to  the  two  pairs  of  mammae,”  though 
Flower  and  Lydekker  (6)  say  that  four  to  ten  are  produced  at 
a time. 

The  simple  globular  uterus,  preserved  in  formalin  with- 
in a week  after  parturition,  is  4 cm.  long  by  3 cm.  broad  at  a 
point  2 cm.  anterior  to  the  os  uteri ; its  dorso-ventral  thickness 


8 


ps  2 cm.  in  the  sagittal  plane  and  it  rounds  off  rather  regularly 
towards  the  sides.  Externally  its  dorsal  and  ventral  surfaces 
are  marked  along  the  median  line  by  a prominent  ridge  which 
passes  through  the  apex  of  the  uterus  at  right  angles  to  the 
plane  of  the  oviducts.  The  ridge  on  the  dorsal  surface  is  more 
pronounced  than  that  on  the  ventral  side.  The  cavity  of  this 
uterus  was  occupied  by  a large  blood  clot  and  has  an  antero- 
posterior length  of  3 cm.,  a dorso-ventral  diameter  of  1 cm., 
and  a greatest  right  to  left  diameter  of  13  mm.  The  uterus 
gives  no  indication  of  a duplex  or  even  a bicornuate  condition 
such  as  is  found  in  certain  other  Edentates. 

The  oviducts  are  only  very  slightly  convoluted  and  are 
approximately  4 cm.  in  length.  They  are  attached  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  uterus  itself  for  approximately  2 cm.  and  enter  the 
latter  at  points  1 cm.  apart  and  about  equidistant  from  the 
apex  of  the  fundus. 

The  placentation  presents  some  very  interesting  features. 
In  my  preliminary  note  (12)  I stated  that  “there  was  a com- 
plete fusion  of  the  four  chorionic  vesicles  into  one,”  common 
to  all  the  foetuses,  each  of  which  had  originally  its  own  separ- 
ate amnion.  Newman  and  Patterson  (loc.  cit.  p.  185)  hold 
from  the  evidence  of  somewhat  earlier  stages  that  there  is 
never  but  a single  chorionic  vesicle.  To  quote:  “We  say  sin- 
gle chorion  advisedly,  because  its  surface  gives  no  indication 
of  being  a multiple  structure,  that  is,  the  product  of  the  fusion 
of  four  chorionic  vesicles  at  an  earlier  period,  as  suggested 
by  Lane ; nor  do  the  facts  revealed  by  a studv  of  sections  of 
the  chorionic  wall  seem  to  bear  out  such  an  interpretation. 
One  must  admit,  however,  the  great  diffi- 
culty  of  any  attempt  at  a correct  interpre- 
tation of  the  exact  relationship  existing 
between  the  foetal  membranes  as  seen  in 
these  advanced  stages.  The  solution  of 
that  problem  must  be  sought  in  a study 
of  young  stages,  when  the  membranes  are 
in  process  of  formation.”  (Italics  mine — Lane.) 

Thus  until  the  study  is  made  of  these  very  early  stages 
direct  evidence  cannot  be  forthcoming  to  settle  the  differences 


9 


between  the  hypothesis  incidentally  set  forth  in  my  brief  note 
in  Science  and  that  advanced  by  Newman  and  Patterson. 
However,  in  all  fairness,  I must  admit  the  probability  of  the 
Correctness  of  their  view  as  an  inference  from  the  fact 
that,  so  far  as  has  been  observed,  “the  embryos  of  any  given 
set  are  always  practically  identical  and  of  the  same  sex.”  Thus 
from  the  table  given  above  it  is  evident  that  while  there  is 
no  exact  identity,  there  is  a fairly  close  resemblance  in  the 
number  of  plates.  This  is  more  marked  when  attention  is  di- 
rected to  the  totals  than  when  the  different  bands  are  examin- 
ed separately.  Newman  and  Patterson  give  the  total  counts 
only  in  two  cases  under  their  observation  and  point  out  a re- 
markable division  of  the  four  foetuses  of  each  litter  into  two 
pairs,  corresponding  to  their  respective  positions  within  the 
chorionic  vesicle.  Of  course  it  was  impossible  in  the  case  of 
my  specimen  to  determine  from  what  quadrant  each  had  been 
derived.  Beyond  the  fact  that  number  I of  the  table  was  the 
first  one  of  the  litter  born,  nothing  is  known  even  concerning 
the  order  in  which  they  were  delivered.  According  to  the  hy- 
pothesis of  Newman  and  Patterson,  however,  I and  IV  with 
556  and  559  plates  each  may  be  assigned  to  one  pair,  while  II 
and  III  with  568  and  566  respectively  form  the  other  pair,  each 
member  of  which  more  closely  resembles  its  fellow  than  it 
does  either  member  of  the  other  pair.  But  let  us  see  whether 
further  analysis  of  the  figures  given  in  the  table  warrants  this 
conclusion.  More  significant  even  than  the  totals,  are  the 
figures  for  the  corresponding  bands  in  each  pair.  Especially 
striking  are  the  two  cases  in  which  the  number  of  plates  in  a 
single  band  falls  below  60.  Counting  from  the  cephalic  margin 
of  the  belt  of  movable  plates,  it  is  found  that  the  fourth  band 
in  I and  IV  has  59  and  58  plates  respectively,  while  in  the  other 
pair  the  corresponding  numbers  are  62  and  61.  Band  5 in  I 
and  IV  shows  61  and  61,  while  the  same  band  in  II  and  III  has 
62  in  each  case.  On  the  other  hand  it  should  be  pointed  out  that 
this  resemblance  may  be  merely  accidental  for  in  several  cases 
I (or  IV)  resembles  II  or  III  more  nearly  than  it  does  its  fel- 
low. For  instance,  in  the  first  band  I has  but  60  plates  while  IV 
has  63 — exactly  the  number  found  also  in  both  II  and  III.  If 


10 


this  difference  be  the  result  of  chance  why  may  not  the  same 
be  true  of  the  likenesses  just  pointed  out?  Again  in  the  second 
band  II  and  IV  have  exactly  the  same  number  of  plates,  63  in 
each,  while  I and  III  likewise  form  a pair  with  62  in  each.  In 
the  third  band  II  and  IV  again  form  a perfect  pair  with  62 
plates  in  each,  but  I and  III  agree  neither  with  each  other  nor 
with  II  and  IV,  for  I has  61,  while  III  has  63.  In  the  sixth 
band  exactly  the  reverse  condition  obtains,  I and  III  forming 
a perfect  pair  with  60  plates  each,  while  II  and  IV  have  61 
and  62  respectively.  An  examination  of  the  table  further 
will  show  similar  discrepancies  in  the  remaining  bands.  With 
such  a showing  it  certainly  becomes  very  difficult  to  decide 
which  foetuses  form  the  pair  derived  from  a certain  one  of 
the  first  two  blastomeres.  However,  they  are  all  females 
and  all  near  enough  alike  to  have  been  derived  from  the  same 
ovum,  so  that  the  main  proposition  still  holds. 

Proceeding  to  “conjecture  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
conditions  seen  in  the  older  stages  have  arisen,”  Newman  and 
Patterson  offer  (loc.  cit.  p.  186)  as  a “tentative”  hypothesis 
the  following:  — “It  may  be  supposed,  for  example,  that  the 
developing  egg,  after  it  has  reached  a stage  corresponding  to 
that  of  an  inner-cell  mass  and  trophoblast  in  other  mammals, 
has,  in  the  case  of  Dasypus  (sic!)  four  inner-cell  mass- 
es^-a cell  mass  for  each  quadrant;  and  furthermore  that  the 
cells  of  any  given  inner-cell  mass  together  with  the  trophoblas- 
tic cells  of  its  quadrant,  are  the  lineal  descendants  of  one  of  the 
blastomeres  of  the  four-cell  stage.”  While  admitting  the  pos- 
sibility of  other  interpretations  they  hold  that  none  is  so  credi- 
ble as  this.  Their  arguments  appear  to  me,  on  the  whole,  to 
be  pretty  conclusive,  as  well  as  the  obvious  bearing  of  their 
results  upon  the  “problem  of  the  identity  of  the  embryos  of  a 
set,  and  its  corollary  that  of  sex  determination.”  I most  heart- 
ily join  in  the  hope  which  they  express  “that  a study  of  the 
early  developmental  stages  will  lend  a solution  to  this  prob- 
lem, and  also  furnish  a satisfactory  explanation  of  the  puzzling 
question  of  “identical  twins ;”  and  thus  raise  this  explanation 
from  the  plane  of  conjecture  to  the  dignity  of  observed  fact.” 

It  has  been  more  than  twenty  years  since  this  hypothesis 


11 


was  first  advanced  by  von  Jhering  (24)  * from  a study  of 
a South  American  armadillo  (Tatusia  [Praopus] 
hybrida),  in  which,  likewise  he  found  all  the  foetuses 
(six  or  more)  enveloped  in  a common  chorion  and  the  indi- 
vidual members  of  each  litter  always  of  the  same  sex.  In 
this  case  also  his  evidence  led  him  to  conclude  that  all  the 
young  produced  at  a time  by  this  armadillo  were  the  products 
of  a single  fertilized  egg,  through  the  separation  of  the  early 
blastomeres.  As  a result  of  his  studies,  von  Jhering  arranges 
different  types  of  reproduction  into  several  categories,  of 
which  that  found  in  the  armadillo  he  terms  “temnogene- 
sis/’ 

It  would  be  well  worth  while,  therefore,  by  a study  of 
very  early  stages,  to  confirm  in  our  native  species  the  conclu- 
sions to  which  von  Jhering  was  led  in  his  work  upon  this 
South  American  armadillo.  In  my  own  case  while  there  is  no 
positive  evidence,  there  is  at  least  nothing  to  negative  the  sug- 
gestion that  the  foetuses  of  Tatu  novemcinctum  are 
developed  each  from  a single  one  of  the  first  four  blastomeres, 
and  if  so  the  sex  is  already  determined  in  the  oosperm,  and  the 
observation  falls  in  line  with  many  others  recently  made. 

The  amnia  in  my  specimen,  as  in  those  studied  by  New- 
man and  Patterson,  had  grown  together  so  that  the  chorionic 
vesicle  is  divided  lengthwise  into  four  parallel  chambers  by 
their  united  walls  (Fig.  1 am.).  Within  each  of  these  amnio- 
tic  chambers,  naturally,  is  the  attachment  of  a single  umbili- 
cal cord  (Fig.  1,  um.  c.) 

Externally  a superficial  examination  of  the  placenta  gives 
the  impression  that  it  is  of  the  zonary  type,  though  much 
broader  to  be  sure  than  the  zone  in  the  case  of  the  Carnivores 
and  still  broader  than  that  of  Orycteropus.  The  villi 
are  present  in  a wide  band  or  girdle  surrounding  the  chorionic 
vesicle,  which  is  somewhat  barrel-shaped  and  has  its  two  ends 
thin,  membranous,  and  entirely  devoid  of  villi,  though  in  earli- 
er stages  Newman  and  Patterson  report  the  presence  of  a 
small  tuft  of  villi,  at  each  pole  of  the  vesicle,  in  the  centers  of 

* I wish  here  to  express  my  thanks  to  Professor  H.  E.  Jordan 
for  kindly  referring  me  to  this  paper. 


12 


these  membranous,  otherwise  non-villous,  areas.  There  is 
absolutely  not  the  slightest  trace  of  such  a villous  tuft  in  my 
specimen.  (Fig.  2 and  3 a.) 

The  length  of  the  chorionic  vesicle  in  this  case  is  approxi- 
mately 12  cm.,  with  a largest  transverse  diameter  of  approxi- 
mately 7 cm.,  at  the  equator.  A more  careful  examination 
shows  that  the  villous  band  is  far  from  similar  throughout  its 
entire  extent.  In  fact,  it  is  made  up  of  two  approximately 
disc-shaped  areas,  the  limits  between  which  are  occupied  by 
villi  much  shorter  and  perhaps  less  numerous  than  those  com- 
posing the  discs.  (Fig.2). 

The  short  villi  form  a band  (Fig.  2,b)  two  and  one  half  to 
four  centimeters  broad  running  lengthwise  of  the  chorionic  ves- 
icle between  the  two  discs  of  long  villi  (Fig  2 c)  which  have  an 
average  diameter  of  approximately  8 to  9 cm.  At  either  end 
of  the  vesicle  the  band  of  short  villi  forks  so  as  to  surround  the 
thin  membranous  acea  occupying  the  pole  (Figs.  2 and  3.) 
There  is  thus  formed,  as  it  were,  at  either  pole,  an  island  of 
thin  non-villous  membrane  (Fig.  3,  a)  surrounded  by  the  band 
of  very  short  villi  (Fig.  3,b).  The  boundaries  between  the 
disc-shaped  areas  with  the  long  villi  and  the  bands  of  short 
villi  are  very  sharp  and  distinct;  the  transition  is  so  very  sud- 
den that  there  can  be  no  mistake  in  the  observation.  The 
short  villi  forming  the  bands  are  only  one  or  two  millimeters 
long,  while  the  long,  highly  arborescent  ones  occupying  the 
disc-shaped  areas  have  a length  of  fifteen  to  eighteen  millime- 
ters. The  two  disc-shaped  areas,  in  turn,  when  examined  on 
the  amniotic  surface  prove  to  be  compound,  that  is  to  say,  each 
has  attached  to  it  two  umbilical  cords  which  arise  at  about 
equal  distances  from  the  opposite  margins  of  the  villous 
areas  though  nearer  one  pole  (distal)  than  the  other  of  the 
chorionic  vesicle  (Fig.  1). 

Newman  and  Patterson  describe  quite  a different  condi- 
tion in  their  specimens.  They  say  (loc.  cit.,  p.  182)  : “An  ex- 
amination of  the  external  villous  layer  of  the  chorion  shows 
that  placentation  is  unique  in  that  areas  of  villi,  although  ap- 
parently forming  a complete  zone  about  the  equatorial  region 
of  the  uterine  wall,  are  in  reality  arranged  in  four  closely  ap- 


13 


proximated  ovoid  areas,  two  large  and  lateral  in  position,  and 
two  smaller,  pne  dorsal  and  the  other  ventral.  The  proximal 
(i.  e.,  the  posterior  of  vaginal)  and  distal  ends  of  the  chori- 
onic vesicle  are  practically  free  of  villi,  except  at  each  pole, 
where  the  presence  of  a small  tuft  of  villi  causes  the  chorion 

to  adhere  very  firmly  to  the  uterine  wall The  villous  zone 

composed  as  it  is  of  four  ovoid  areas,  extends  into  the  polar  re- 
gions in  the  form  of  four  scallops  at  each  end,  and  on  the 
amniotic  side  of  the  four  scallops  are  situated  the  points  of 
attachment  of  the  four  umbilical  cords.” 

They  further  state  (loc.  cit.,  p.  184)  that  the  difference  be- 
tween their  account  and  mine  lies  “chiefly  in  [Lane]  locating 
the  points  of  attachment  of  the  two  umbilical  cords  on  each 
of  the  large  ‘disc-shaped’  areas  and  none  on  the  smaller  areas.” 
It  is  not  surprising  that  they  further  assert  that  “This  condi- 
tion is  certainly  not  found  in  our  material,”  for  it  is  evident 
that  they  have  confused  what  I have  described  as  a “band  of 
short  villi”  (Fig.  2,  b)  with  two  of  their  four  villous  areas. 
In  my  specimen  the  bands  of  short  villi  were  lateral,  while 
the  disc-shaped  areas  were  respectively  dorsal  and  ventral  in 
position  as  is  shown  by  their  areas  of  contract  with  the  uter- 
ine wall,  which  appear  as  two  much-pitted  circular  spaces,  one 
on  the  dorsal  and  the  other  on  the  ventral  inner  surface  of 
the  fundus.  There  are  no  “scallops”  in  the  two  disc-shaped 
areas  though  the  membranous  portion  of  the  anterior  pole 
is  somewhat  crescentic  with  a slight  projection  on  its  concave 
side  into  the  adjoining  band  of  short  villi  (Fig.  3,  a). 
This  is  evidently  the  vestige  of  the  earlier  scalloped  condition 
described  by  Newman  and  Patterson,  but  the  reduction  of  the 
villi  has  gone  so  far  in  this  case  that  the  disc-shaped  areas  are 
no  longer  affected. 

The  foetuses  escaped  through  the  posterior  non-villous 
pole  of  the  chorionic  vesicle,  which  lay  near  the  os  uteri.  There 
was  no  indication  of  a decidua  capsularis;  the  placenta,  how- 
ever, was  truly  deciduate. 

Whether  there  was  here  an  approach  toward  the  zonary 
type  through  the  fusion  of  four  discoidal  placentae,  or  a tran- 
sition toward  the  discoidal  or  cotyledonary  type  by  the  seg- 


14 


regation  of  certain  areas  of  a zonary  placenta,  could  be  deter- 
mined certainly  only  by  the  examination  of  a series  of  early 
stages  which  I do  not  possess.  However,  the  observation  of 
Newman  and  Patterson  of  a chorionic  vesicle,  of  an  age  esti- 
mated to  be  one  month,  with  its  “entire  surface covered 

with  villi”  is  conclusively  in  favor  of  the  latter  hypothesis. 
And  the  discrepancies  which  have  been  pointed  out  between 
their  description  and  mine  are  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
they  were  working  with  earlier  stages  in  which  the  location 
of  the  villi  into  disc-shaped  areas  through  their  reduction  or 
total  disappearance  in  other  parts  of  the  chorionic  surface, 
had  not  proceeded  so  far  as  in  my  specimen,  which  may  with 
all  probability  be  taken  as  representative  of  the  last  condition 
ordinarily  attained  in  this  species.  The  placenta  was  obtained 
immediately  after  its  discharge  and  carefully  preserved,  so 
that  it  is  perfect,  save  for  the  rupture  of  the  chorionic  vesicle 
and  amnia  by  the  birth  of  the  foetuses. 

At  any  event  the  type  is  an  intermediate  one  between  the 
zonary  placenta  of  the  Carnivores  and  the  discoidal  placenta 
of  the  Primates,  C'hiroptera,  Rodents,  and  Insectivores. 

Owen  (16)  and  Koelliker  (11)  describe  the  placentation 
of  the  armadillo  as  truly  discoidal  and  deciduate ; Alf.  Milne- 
Edwards  (14)  holds  it  to  be  zonary.  Beddard  (3)  describes 
it  as  “dome-shaped  and  deciduate  ;”  Flower  and  Lydekker  (6) 
say : “Placenta  discoidal ;”  but  on  the  next  page  they  add : 
“There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  placentation  [in  the  ar- 
amadillo]  is  essentially  different  from  that  obtaining  in  the 
other  groups”  [of  Edentata.] 

The  latest  general  account  of  placentation  is  that  of  Strahl 
(21)  who  recognizes  as  types  of  true  placentae  (1)  Placen- 
ta zonaria  with  two  varieties,  (a)  simplex  and  (b) 
composita;  (2)  Placenta  zono-discoidalis; 
and  (3)  Placenta  discoidalis  with  three  varieties : 
(a)  simplex;  (b)  duplex;  and  (c)  perforata. 
Of  these  we  may  dismiss  at  once  from  our  consideration  as 
wholly  inapplicable  to  the  case  in  hand,  P . zonaria 
s i m p 1 e x and  P.  d i s c o i d a 1 i s s i m p 1 e x and  perfor- 
ata. P.  zonaria  composita  is  the  name  applied  to 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  FIGURES. 

Fig.  1.  Diagram  of  equatorial  cross-section  of  chorionic  ves- 
icle. The  position  of  the  umbilical  cords  ( u m . c . ) 
is  indicated,  though  in  fact  they  are  not  located  at 
this  level. 

am,  amnia,  which  divide  the  Chorionic  Vesicle  into 
four  longitudinal  chambers,  b,  band  of  short  villi ; c, 
area  of  long  villi. 

Fig.  2.  Diagrammatic  external  lateral  view  of  Chorionic  Ves- 
icle. a,  non-villous  area  at  pole ; b,  band  of  short 
villi  separating  the  two  disc-shaped  areas  of  long  villi, 
c. 

Fig.  3.  Diagrammatic  external  polar  view  of  Chorionic  Ves- 
icle. Lettering,  same  as  in  Fig.  2. 


Figures  all  natural  size. 


Fig.  / 


Fig.  2 


Fig.  3 


15 


the  placenta  of  the  elephant  in  which  “ausser  dem  Guertel 
Zottenbueschel  nach  Art  von  Kotyledonen  und  besondere 
Zottenfelder  an  den  Polen  des  Chorionsackes  vorhanden  sind,” 
a condition  not  at  all  similar  to  that  in  Tat  u.  P.  dis- 
coidalis  duplex  really  comprises  two  types.  In  the 
first  of  these,  such  as  occurs  in  Cercocebus  orSem- 
nopithecus,  there  is  a dorsal,  or  primary,  and  a ventral 
or  secondary,  discoidal  placenta ; the  latter  may  exceptionally 
persist,  though  usually,  at  least  in  the  Anthropoidea,  it  is 
transitory,  disappearing  later  in  gestation.  The  other  type 
of  duplex  discoidal  placenta  occurs,  for  instance,  in  the’  mole 
(Talpa  europea)  and  comprises  what  may  be  termed 
an  omphaloidal  and  an  allantoidal  placenta.  Ob- 
viously the  armadillo  under  consideration  does  not  conform 
to  either  of  these  types. 

Strahl’s  remaining  category,  Placenta  zono-dis- 
c o i d a 1 i s , is  described  as  a placenta,  “die  als  zonaria  an- 
gelegert  wirt,  aber  aus  dieser  in  eine  doppelt  scheibenfoermige 
uebergeht.”  It  occurs  in  the  ferret  (Pu  tori  us  furo) 
and  the  weasel  (Putorius  vulgaris).  It  arises  as 
an  incomplete  zone  which  later  separates  into  two  distinct 
disc-shaped  areas,  situated  on  opposite  sides  of  the  chorionic 
vesicle.  The  primary  zone  of  separation  is  on  the  mesome- 
tral  side,  while  the  secondary  is  opposite  the  primary  one.  The 
placenta  of  Tatu  novemcinctum  bears  somewhat  of 
a resemblance  to  this  type  though  the  observations  of  New- 
man and  Patterson  establish  very  clearly  that,  from  at  first  a 
totally  villous  state,  the  placenta  becomes  gradually  approxi- 
mately zonary  in  type,  as  A.  Milne-Edwards  described  it,  and 
later,  according  to  my  own  observations,  tends  toward  the 
double  discoidal  form,  though  it  differs  from  that  in  the  fer- 
ret and  weasel  in  at  least  one  important  particular,  since  there 
are  small  villi  present  even  at  parturition  in  both  zones  of 
separation  between  the  discoidal  areas.  It  does  not,  therefore, 
find  a place  in  Strahl’s  classification  and  I suggest  that  it  be 
termed  Placenta  zono-discoidalis  indistincta  ; 
the  Placenta  zono-discoidalis  of  Strahl  being 
designated  as  variety  d i s t i n c t a . 


16 


SUMMARY. 

1.  Tatu  novemcinctum,  var.  t e x a n u m , the 
only  Edentate  living  in  the  United  States  at  the  present  time, 
gives  birth  usually  to  four  young  in  a litter. 

2.  The  uterus  is  simple  and  globular,  4 cm.  long,  3 cm. 
broad,  and  2 cm.  thick.  The  oviducts  are  only  slightly  con- 
voluted and  are  4 cm  .long. 

3.  Each  foetus  develops  within  its  own  amniotic  sac, 
though  a common  chorionic  vesicle  serves  for  all. 

4.  While  the  evidence  is  not  decisive,  the  fact  that  the 
young  were  all  of  the  same  sex  and  greatly  resembled  each 
other,  as  well  as  the  fact  that  they  were  all  contained  in  a com- 
mon chorionic  vesicle,  lends  probability  to  the  view  that  in 
Tatu  there  is  polyembryony  (temnogensis)  as  was 
suggested  by  von  Jhering  and  later  by  Newman  and  Patter- 
son, and  that  the  sex  is  determined  in  the  fertilized  egg. 

5.  The  chorionic  villi  vary  from  short  simple  ones,  one 
or  two  millimeters  long,  to  arborescent  ones  with  a maximum 
length  of  18  millimeters. 

6.  The  short  villi  form  two  longitudinal  bands  separat- 
ing two  discoidal  areas  of  the  long  villi. 

7.  The  placenta  is  of  a deciduate  type  intermediate  in 
form  between  the  zonary  and  the  discoidal ; not  conforming 
exactly  to  Strahl’s  Placenta  zono-discoidalis  the 
placenta  of  Tatu  is  designated  as  Placenta  zono- 
discoidalis  indistincta. 

8.  There  is  no  decidua  capsularis. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

1.  Bailey,  Vernon:  Biological  Survey  of  Texas,  N.  Am. 
Fauna,  No.  25,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Biol.  Sur- 
vey, 1905. 

2.  Balfour,  F.  M. : Comparative  Embryology,  Vol.  II, 
p.  248,  Macmillan  Co.  1885. 


17 


3.  Beddard,  F.  E. : Mammalia,  Vol.  X,  Cambridge  Nat- 
ural History,  1902. 

4.  Flower,  W.  H. : On  the  Mutual  Affinities  of  the  Ani- 
imals  Composing  the  Order  Edentata.  Proc.  Zool.  Soc.,  1882, 
p.  358. 

5.  idem : (Hairy  Armadillo)  Proc.  Zool.  Soc.,  1886. 

6.  Flower  & Lydekker  : An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of 
Mammals  Living  and  Extinct.  London,  1891. 

7.  Forbes,  W.  A. : Anatomy  of  Great  Anteater,  Proc. 
Zool.  Soc.,  1882. 

8.  Garrod,  A.  H. : Notes  Upon  the  Anatomy  of  Tolypeu- 
tes  tricinctus,  with  remarks  Upon  the  Other  Armadillos.  Proc. 
Zool.  Soc.,  London,  1878. 

9.  Huxley,  T.  H. : The  Elements  of  Comparative  Ana- 
tomy, London,  1864. 

10.  Jordan,  H.  F.  Facts  Concerning  the  Determination 
of  Sex,  Pop.  Sci.  Mon.,  Vol.  LXXIV,  No.  6,  June  1909,  p.  540. 

11.  Koelliker:  Entwicklungsgeschichte  des  Menchen, 
etc.,  2nd.  ed.,  p.  362,  Leipzig,  1876. 

12.  Lane,  H.  H. : Placentation  of  an  Armadillo.  Science 
new  series,  Vol.  XXIX,  No.  748,  April  30,  1909,  p.  715. 

13.  Milne-Edwards,  Alf : Sur  la  comformation  des  pla- 
centa chez  le  Tamandua,  Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat.,  XV,  1872. 

14.  idem  : Recherches  s.  1.  enveloppes  foetales  du  Tatou 
a neuf  bandes.  Ann.  Sci.  Nat.,  Ser.  VI.  VIII,  1878. 

15.  Newman,  H.  H.  and  Patterson,  J.  T. : A Case  of  Nor- 
mal Identical  Quadruplets  in  the  Nine-banded  Armadillo, 
and  its  Bearing  on  the  Problems  of  Identical  Twins  and  of 
Sex  Determination,  Biological  Bulletin,  Vol.  XVII,  No.  3, 
August  1909,  p.  181. 

16.  Owen,  R. : On  the  Anatomy  of  Vertebrates  Vol.  Ill 
pp.  731-732,  London,  1868. 

17.  idem  : On  the  Anatomy  of  the  Nine-banded  Arma- 
dillo (Dasypus  Peba.)  Proc.  of  the  Com.  of  Sci.,  etc.,  Zool, 
Soc.  London,  Part  I,  1830. 

18.  idem:  On  the  Anatomy  of  the  Weasel-headed  Ar- 
madillo (Dasypus  sexcinctus),  Proc.  of  the  Com.  of  Sci.,  etc. 
Zool.  Soc.  London,  Part  I,  1831. 


18 


19.  idem  : Anatomy  of  the  Great  Anteater,  Trans.  Zool. 
Soc.,  vol.  IV,  1862. 

20.  Shuddenmagen,  L.  C. : On  the  Anatomy  of  the  Cen- 
tral Nervous  System  of  the  Nine-banded  Armadillo  (Tatu 
novemcinctum  Linn.),  Biol.  Bull.,  Vol.  XII,  No.  4,  March  1907 
p.  285. 

21.  Strahl,  Hans:  Die  Embryonalhuellen  der  Saeuger 
und  die  Placenta,  in  Hertwig’s  Handbuch  der  vergl.  u.  exper. 
Entwickelungslehre  der  Wirbeltiere,  Bd.  I,  Tl.  1,  II  Haelfte 
Achtes  Kapitel.  Jena,  1906. 

22.  Turner,  W. : On  the  placentation  of  Sloths  (Choloe- 
pus  Hoffmanni)  Trans.  Roy.  Soc.  Edinburgh,  Vol.  XXVII, 

1875. 

23.  idem : On  the  placentation  of  the  Cape  Anteater 
(Orycteropus  capensis),  Journ.  of  Anat.  and  Phys.,  vol.  X, 

1876. 

24.  von  Jhering:  Ueber  Generationswechsel  bei  Saeu- 
gethieren,  Arch.  f..  Anat.  und  Phys.,  Abth.  Phys.,  1886.  See 
also  a preliminary  article  in  Biolog.  Centralbl.,  vol.  VI,  pp. 
532-539  (No.  17,  1886)  and  note  in  Kosmos  for  same  year. 

STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA, 

Norman,  Oklahoma, 

October  1,  1909. 


No.  2 

A SUGGESTED  CLASSIFICATION  OF 
EDENTATES 


21 


A SUGGESTED  CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE 
EDENTATES.  * 

H.  H.  Lane. 

It  has  long  been  conceded  that  the  Edentata,  in  the  broad 
sense,  form  a heterogeneous  “order,”  but,  mostly  on  account 
of  the  relatively  small  number  of  living  species,  “convenience” 
has  been  allowed  to  override  weightier  considerations,  and  has 
led  to  the  retention  of  a confessedly  artificial  and  unnatural  al- 
location of  the  forms  comprised  in  this  group.  If  classifica- 
tion has  any  scientific  significance  at  all  it  lies  in  the  express- 
ion of  natural  relationships,  and  the  accident  of  there  being 
only  a small  number  of  species  in  a group  should  not  for 
mere  convenience'  sake  compel  the  adoption  of  an  artificial 
rather  than  a natural  arrangement  of  these  species. 

Most  frequently  of  late  years  the  division  into  the  subor- 
ders, Xenarthra  and  Nomarthra,  has  been  adopted,  the  former 
for  the  American  and  the  latter  for  the  Old  World  species. 
The  Xenarthra  constitute  undoubtedly  a rather  natural  group 
but  the  union  of  Manis  and  Orycteropus  in  the  Nomarthra  is 
decidedly  artificial.  A like  result  has  been  attained  by  those 
authors  who  recognize  two  “orders” — Edentata,  in  the  stricter 
sense,  with  the  limits  of  the  Xenarthra,  and  the  Effodientia, 
corresponding  to  the  Nomarthra.  The  same  objections  may 
be  urged  against  this  plan  as  against  the  one  previously  men- 
tioned. It  does  have  the  advantage,  however,  of  better  ex- 
pressing the  wide  separation  of  the  Old  World  from  the  New 
World  species.  Flower  (4)  retains  the  order  Edentata,  in  the 
broad  sease,  but  recognizes  four  suborders,  (1)  Pilosa  includ- 
ing the  Bradypodidae,  Megatheriidae,  and 
Myrmecophagidac  ; (2)  Loricata  for  the  Dasypo- 
didae;  (3)  Squamata  for  the  Manidae  ; and  (4)  Tubu- 
lidentata  for  the  Orycteropodidae.  The  objection 
to  this  arrangement  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  affinity  of  the  Pi- 
losa and  Loricata  is  much  closer  than  that  of  either  of  these 

* Contribution  No.  3,  from  the  Department  of  Zoology  and  Embry- 
ology, State  University  of  Oklahoma. 


22 


groups  with  the  Squamata  or  the  Tubulidentata.  Moreover, 
the  Squamata  and  the  Tubulidentata  are  certainly  as  far  re- 
moved from  each  other  as  either  is  from  the  Pilosa  and 
Loricata. 

Other  authorities,  e.  g.,  Max  Weber  (14)  and  Elliot 
Smith  (9),  recognize  three  orders  which  they  designate  as 
the  Xenarthra,  Tubulidentata,  and  Squamata.  This  arrange- 
ment is  undoubtedly  correct  in  principle  and  agrees  very 
closely  with  the  conclusions  set  forth  below.  Oldfield  Thomas 
(11)  has  gone  farther  and  has  proposed  the  formation  of  a sub- 
class, which  he  terms  the  Paratheria,  for  the  Edentata.  There 
appears  to  be  altogether  inadequate  reasons  for  such  a radical 
step  as  this  and  it  becomes  impossible  if  the  Taeniodonta  are 
to  be  recognized  as  Edentata. 

A comparison  of  the  uterus  and  placenta  of  the  different 
groups  of  living  Edentates  suggests  very  strongly  the  proprie- 
ty of  recognizing  at  least  three  distinct  orders.  Thus  Or  y- 
c file  r o p u s possesses  a duplex  uterus  the  two  portions  of 
which  open  separately  into  the  vagina,  as  is  the  case  in  some 
Rodents.  This  is  the  most  primitive  type  of  uterus  occurring 
among  the  Edentates  and  indeed  is  as  primitive  as  any  in  the 
Mammalia.  Turner  (13)  has  shown  that  the  zonary  placenta 
of  Orycteropus,  unlike  that  of  the  Carnivora,  has  its 
arborescent  chorionic  villi  diffusely  arranged  in  a broad  gir- 
dle whose  width  is  equal  to  one  half  or  more  of  the  length  of 
the  chorionic  vesicle.  While  the  material  and  foetal  parts  are 
closely  interlocked,  Turner  was  unable  to  determine  whether 
the  placenta  is  truly  deciduate. 

In  M a n i s the  uterus  is  truly  bicornuate,  and  is  there- 
fore of  a distinct  type  though  intermediate  between  the  simple 
globular  form  of  the  Xenarthra  and  the  duplex  condition  of 
the  Tubulidentata.  The  placenta,  as  describedd  by  Sharpey, 
Turner,  and  Anderson  (fide  Balfour),  is  absolutely  unique. 
It  has  its  simple  villi  arranged  in  ridges  radiating  from  a non- 
villous  longitudinal  strip  on  the  concave  surface  of  the  chori- 
onic vesicle,  the  whole  placenta,  however,  being  diffused  over 
the  surface  both  of  the  chorion  and  the  uterine  mucosa. 

In  all  the  Xenarthra,  finally,  the  uterus  is  of  the  type  de- 


23 


scribed  in  my  previous  paper  for  Tatu  novemcinctum, 
viz.,  simple  and  globular,  and  represents  a higher  degree  of 
advancement  in  this  respect  than  that  found  in  the  other  liv- 
ing Edentates.  Correlated  with  this  type  of  uterus,  the  placen- 
ta is  deciduate,  and  either  discoidal  or  indistinctly  zono-dis- 
coidal,  as  shown  in  the  article  just  cited. 

If  these  characters  be  not  sufficient  for  the  erection  of 
distinct  orders,  there  are  a number  of  others  correlated  with 
with  them  which  certainly  suffice.  Thus  in  the  Tubulidentata, 
along  with  the  hairy  covering,  one  finds  numerous  slightly  he- 
terodont,  diphyodont  teeth,  which  are  formed  apparently  by 
the  aggregation  of  parallel  vertical  columns  of  dentine,  each 
column  with  its  own  pulp  cavity,  and  the  whole  forming  a 
tooth-structure  utterly  unlike  anything  found  elsewhere 
among  the  Mammalia. 

In  the  M a n i d a e the  external  body  covering  consists 
of  large  imbricated  horny  scales  in  shape  and  arrangement 
such  as  to  suggest  the  appearance  of  a huge  pine  cone.  These 
scales  are  generally  regarded  as  unique  in  structure  being 
formed  of  masses  of  hairs  cemented  together  by  their  super- 
fical  epidermal  cells.  M a n i s is  toothless  and  shows  an  ad- 
aptive resemblance  in  the  shape  of  the  head  and  form  of  the 
tongue  to  other  anteating,  or  perhaps  more  properly,  termite- 
eating forms. 

In  the  Xenarthra  the  body  is  covered  by  peculiar  hair, 
which  may  be  more  or  less  replaced  by  dermal  plates  in  the 
armadillos.  They  all  possess  the  peculiar  additional  articula- 
tions on  the  vertebrae  which  suggested  to  Gill  the  name,  Xen- 
arthra. These  articulations  do  not  occur  in  Manis  and  Oryc- 
teropus.  Teeth  are  totally  lacking  in  the  Myrmecophagidae 
which  in  that  respect  occupy  the  place  of  greatest  specializa- 
tion and  complete  the  line  of  dental  degenerantion  probably 
begun  in  the  Taeniodonts.  The  teeth  of  the  remaining  Xen- 
arthra, however,  are  homodont,  and  monophyodont,  with  the 
exception  of  certain  of  the  armadillos,  in  which  they  are  par- 
tially diphyodont.  This  group  has,  therefore,  lagged  behind 
its  relatives  in  the  degeneration  of  its  dentition. 

We  feel  justified,  therefore,  in  recognizing  three  distinct 


24 


orders  of  living  Edentates,  agreeing  in  this  with  Elliott  Smith, 
Max  Weber,  and  Osborn  (10).  Despite  the  fact  that  these 
animals  constitute  several  distinct  orders,  they  are  so  widely 
separated  from  all  other  Mammalia  and  exhibit  certain  such 
general  resemblances  to  each  other,  that  it  seems  necessary 
to  recognize  a SUPERORDER  EDENTATA.  This  leaves 
the  term  Xenarthra  of  Gill  available  for  the  American  species. 
The  term  Squamata  which  has  been  frequently  applied  to  the 
Manidae  seems  to  have  been  antedated  by  Squamata  (Oppel 
1811),  applied  to  an  order  or  superorder  (Osborn)  of  Reptilia, 
and  should  therefore  be  replaced  by  Pholidota  of  Weber,  as, 
indeed,  has  been  done  by  Osborn.  Tubulidentata  for  Oryc- 
teropus  stands. 

Although  denied  by  Scott  it  appears  probable  that  Wort- 
man  (16)  is  correct  in  considering  the  Taeniodonta  as  ancestral 
Edentates,  probably  allied  to  the  modern  Xenarthra.  As 
characterized  by  Smith-Woodward  (15),  they  are  an  Ameri- 
can group  in  which  the  more  primitive  forms  were  distinctly 
Eutherian,  with  a heterodont  dentition.  There  were  incisors 
both  above  and  below,  the  cheek  teeth  were  differentiated  in- 
to molars  and  premolars,  and  the  former  had  a tritubercular 
crown  which  in  time  became  worn  away  leaving  the  dentine 
exposed.  The  earlier  known  species  had  teeth  rooted  and 
more  or  less  covered  with  enamel,  but  in  the  later  species 
there  was  a gradual  diminution  of  the  incisors  and  all  the 
teeth  became  “hypsodont,  rootless,  and  of  persistent  growth, 
while  the  enamel  is  limited  to  narrow  vertical  bands.”  In  the 
Stylinodontidae,  the  skull  and  limbs  are  remarkably  sloth- 
like, while  in  the  Conoryctidae  these  characters  point  toward 
the  armadillos.  It  seems  clear,  as  Wortman  has  suggested, 
that  the  Taeniodonta  are  ancestral  Edentates,  i.  e.,  ancestral 
to  the  Xenarthra,  and  that  some  of  the  living  species  are  de- 
generate types  from  the  same  stock. 

With  these  facts  before  us,  the  most  natural  arrangement 
appears  to  be  as  follows : 


25 


SUPERORDER  EDENTATA  (Vicq  d’Azyr(. 

Order  1.  TAENIODONTA  Cope 
Family  Conoryctidae  Wortman 

Family  Styliodontidae  Marsh 

Order  2.  XENARTHRA  Gill 

Suborder  P i 1 o s a Flower 

Family  Bradypodidae  Bonaparte 
Family  Megalonychidae  Zittel 
Family  Megatheriidae  Owen 
Family  Myrmecophagidae  Bonaparte 
Family  Orophodontidae  Ameghino 

Suborder  L o r i c a t a Flower 

Family  Dasypodidae  Bonaparte 
Family  Glyptodontidae  Burmeister 

Order  3.  PHOLIDOTA  Weber 
Family  M a n i d a e Gray 

Order  4.  TUBULIDENTATA  Flower 
Family  Orycteropodidae  Bonaparte 

The  arrangement  of  the  families  is  not  intended  to  be 
other  than  arbitrary.  Likewise  it  is  impossible  to  arrange  the 
orders  of  living  species  in  a linear  series  so  as  to  show  the  re- 
lative degrees  of  specialization.  On  the  basis  of  the  form  of 
the  uterus,  the  relative  positions  would  be:  Tubulidentata, 
Pholidota,  Xenarthra;  using  the  form  of  the  placenta  as  indi- 
cative of  relative  rank,  the  arrangement  is : Pholidota,  Tubul- 
identata, Xenarthra.  While  if  the  dentition  be  taken  as  the 
criterion  quite  a different  arrangement  would  result.  In  short 
the  three  orders  of  living  Edentates  here  recognized  probably 
all  arose  about  the  same  time  as  divergent  lines  from  some  an- 
cestral group.  The  Taeniodonta  were  probably  nearer  the 
base  of  the  Xenarthral  line  than  to  that  of  either  the  Pholidota 
or  Tubulidentata. 


26 


SUMMARY. 

1.  A comparison  of  the  placenta  of  Tatu  with  that  of  other 
Edentates  leads  to  the  conclusion,  which  is  confirmed 
by  a consideration  of  other  structures,  that  the  Edentata 
transcend  the  limits  of  a single  “order.” 

2.  Previous  classifications  being  more  or  less  artificial  or 
otherwise  unsatisfactory,  suggestion  is  made  of  what  is 
thought  to  be  a more  natural  arrangement. 

3.  The  Edentata  are  recognized  as  a superorder  of 
Mammalia,  comprising  four  orders : Taeniodonta 
Cope,  Xenarthra  Gill,  Pholidota  Weber,  and 
T ubulidentata  Flower,  and  reasons  are  given  for 
these  conclusions. 

4.  It  is  suggested  that  the  orders  diverged  from  some  ances- 
tral group  at  present  unrecognized,  the  T aeniodon- 
t a being  more  nearly  related  to  the  Xenarthra  than  to 
the  other  orders. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

1.  Bailey,  Vernon : Biological  Survey  of  Texas,  N.  Am.  Fau- 
na, No.  25,  U.  S.  Dep’t  of  Agriculture,  Biol.  Survey,  1905. 

2.  Balfour,  F.  M. : Comparative  Embryology,  Vol.  II,  Mac- 
millan Co.,  1885. 

3.  Beddard,  F.  E. : Mammalia,  Vol.  X,  Cambridge  Natural 
History,  1902. 

4.  Flower,  W.  H. : On  the  Mutual  Affinities  of  the  Animals 
Composing  the  Order  Edentata.  Proc.  Zool.  Soc.,  1882, 
p.  358. 

5.  idem : (Hairy  Armadillo)  Proc.  Zool.  Soc.,  1886. 

6.  Flower  & Lydekker : An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of 
Mammals  Living  and  Extinct.  London,  1891. 

7.  Huxley,  T.  H. : The  Elements  of  Comparative  Anatomy, 
London,  1864. 

8.  Lane,  H.  H. : Placentation  of  an  Armadillo.  Science,  new 
series,  Vol.  XXIX,  No.  748,  April  30,  1909,  p.  715. 


27 


8a.  idem : Some  Observations  On  the  Habits  and  Placenta- 
tion  of  Tatu  novemcinctum.  St.  Univ.  of  Okla.  Research 
Bulletin,  No.  1. 

9.  Smith,  Elliot:  in  Trans.  Linn.  Soc.  (2)  VII,  1898. 

10.  Osborn,  H.  F. : Evolution  of  Mammalian  Molar  Teeth, 
Macmillan  Co.,  1907. 

11.  Thomas,  Oldfield:  A Milk  Dentition  in  Orycteropus, 
Proc.  Roy.  Soc.,  Vol.  XLVII,  p.  246,  1890. 

12.  Turner,  W. : On  the  placentation  of  Sloths  (Choloepus 
Hofifmanni),  Trans.  Roy.  Soc.  Edinburgh,  Vol.  XXVII, 
1875. 

13.  idem  : On  the  placentation  of  the  Cape  Anteater  (Orycter- 
opus capensis),  Journ.  of  Anat.  and  Phys.,  Vol.  X,  1876. 

14.  Weber,  Max:  Zool.  Ergebnesse  einer  Reise  in  Niederl. 
Ost  Indien,  Leiden,  1892. 

15.  Woodward,  A.  S. : Vertebrate  Paleontology,  Cambridge 
University  Press.  1898. 

16.  Wortman. : The  Ganodonta  and  their  Relationship  to 
the  Edentata.  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory, IX,  1897,  p.  59. 

STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OLKAHOMA, 

Norman,  Oklahoma. 

July  25,  1909. 


THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 

RESEARCH  BULLETIN 


NUMBER  3 


PROPOSED  GROUPS  OF  PENNSYLVANIAN 
ROCKS  OF  EASTERN  OKLAHOMA 


iisflS 


^ SH 


BY 


CHAS.  N.  GOULD,  D.  W.  OHERN 
and  L.  L.  HUTCHISON 


mm: 

... 


NORMAN 

The  University  Press 
March  1,  1910 


ANNOUNCEMENT 

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SEARCH BULLETIN  is  issued  at  irregular  intervals.  It  is 
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should  be  addressed  to  the  LIBRARY  OF  THE  STATE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA,  NORMAN,  OKLA.,  U. 
S.  A.  ' 

> - ’.j;UV 


PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE 

D.  W.  OHERN,  Chairman 

J.  S.  BUCHANAN  ’’  - > JEROME  DOWD 
HENRY  MEIER  H.  H.  LANE 

T.  H.  BREWER 

The  Committee  does  not  assume  responsibility  for  the 
contents  of  the  RESEARCH  BULLETIN.  Each  author  is 
to  be  given  enti-s  credit  for  his  own  subject-matter. 


THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 

RESEARCH  BULLETIN 


NUMBER  3 


PROPOSED  GROUPS  OF  PENNSYLVANIAN 
ROCKS  OF  EASTERN  OKLAHOMA 


BY 

CHAS.  N.  GOULD,  D.  W.  OHERN 
and  L.  L.  HUTCHISON 


NORMAN 

The  University  Press 
March  1,  1910 


3 


PROPOSED  GROUPS  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIAN 
ROCKS  OF  EASTERN  OKLAHOMA 

INTRODUCTION 

This  paper  embodies  certain  results  of  field  work  accom- 
plished by  the  authors  during  the  past  twelve  years.  Mr. 
Gould  first  visited  the  region  under  discussion  in  1897,  and 
has  done  more  or  less  work  there  each  year  since  that  time. 
Mr.  Hutchison  has  spent  five  field  seasons  in  the  region,  be- 
ing employed  chiefly  in  collecting  data  relating  to  oil  and  gas. 
In  1907  he  wrote  a thesis  covering  certain  phases  of  the  sub- 
ject, which  has,  however,  never  been  published.  Mr.  Ohern 
has  been  employed  the  past  two  seasons  in  the  north-central 
part  of  the  region  doing  detailed  mapping. 

In  addition  to  data  collected  by  the  authors,  the  results 
of  other  investigators  in  the  field'  have  been  freely  used. 
Joseph  A.  Taff,  for  many  years  connected  with  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey,  spent  a number  of  field  seasons  in 
the  coal  fields  of  Oklahoma,  and  has  published  several  reports 
and  folios  dealing  with  the  southern  portion  of  the  region.  N. 
F.  Drake,  Geo.  I.  Adams  and  C.  E.  Siebenthal  have  each  made 
reconnaissances  in  the  region,  and  their  results  have  been 
utilized  as  far  as  possible.  The  reports  and  papers  of  Haworth, 
Beede,  Prosser,  Rogers,  Bennett,  Adams,  Schrader,  Shaler 
and  others,  in  Kansas,  and  the  works  of  Branner,  Collier  and 
Purdue  in  Arkansas  have  been  drawn  upon. 

THE  PROBLEM 

The  rocks  in  the  area  under  discussion  consist  of  a thick- 
ness of  from  10,000  to  12,000  feet  of  sediments  of  Pennsylvan- 
ian age  extending  from  the  Mississippian  to  the  Permian.  In 
general  these  rocks  consist  of  alternating  layers  of  shale  and 
sandstone.  The  shales  greatly  predominate,  making  up  ap- 
proximately three-fourths,  or  possibly  nine-tenths  of  the  en- 
tire thickness  of  the  strata.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  State 


4 


there  is  a number  of  ledges  of  limestone,  but  even  in  this  re- 
gion, shales  constitute  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  strata, 
the  remainder  being  about  equally  divided  between  sandstone 
and  limestone.  Farther  north,  in  east-central  Kansas,  the 
limestone  ledges  are  not  only  more  numerous  (no  fewer  than 
twenty  distinct  ledges  having  been  recognized)  but  they  are 
thicker,  while  sandstones  make  up  a relatively  small  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  series. 

In  Kansas  it  has  been  noted  that  on  passing  from  the 
center  of  the  State  to  the  Oklahoma  line,  the  various  limestone 
ledges  frequently  thin  out,  and  some  of  them  disappear  before 
the  line  is  reached.  Others  pass  for  several  miles  into  Okla- 
homa before  disappearing,  but,  except  in  eastern  Kay  County, 
comparatively  few  limestones  reach  the  Arkansas  River.  Of 
the  half  dozen  or  more  which  persist  south  of  that  stream, 
only  one  ledge,  so  far  as  known,  exceeds  ten  feet  in  thickness. 

It  has  also  been  found  that  as  the  limestones  thin  out  to 
the  south  and'  finally  disappear,  sandstones  often  come  in, 
usually  either  just  above  or  just  below  the  limestone.  In 
other  cases  the  ledges  become  more  arenaceous  to  the  south, 
until  finally  the  ledge  which  was  a limestone  has  become  a 
sandstone.  It  frequently  happens,  also,  that  additional  sand- 
stone ledges  come  in,  first  as  mere  arenaceous  bands  in  the 
shales,  then  as  thin  lenses  which  thicken  to  the  south,  and  fin- 
ally become  ledges  of  hard  sandstone  twenty  to  fifty  feet  thick, 
which  resist  erosion  and  give  rise  to  pronounced  escarpments. 
In  a number  of  instances,  however,  the  thinning  out  of  the 
limestone  ledges  is  to  the  north.  This  fact  is  particularly  well 
exemplified  in  the  case  of  several  limestone  ledges  in  the  re- 
gion about  Bartlesville,  and  between  that  city  and  Arkan- 
sas River  above  Tulsa.  Here,  at  least  two  heavy  ledges  of 
limestone  disappear  to  the  north.  Many  of  the  ledges,  both 
limestone  and  sandstone,  when  traced  for  any  considerable 
distance  are  found  to  be  local  lenses.  The  general  rule 
throughout  the  area  is,  however,  that  limestones  “finger  out” 
to  the  south  and  sandstones  to  the  north,  while  the  interven- 
ing shales  coalesce. 

Another  factor  which  complicates  the  difficulty  of  the 


5 


situation  is  the  gradual  thickening  of  the  entire  series  to  the 
south,  particularly  near  their  base.  For  instance  the  basal 
group,  to  be  hereinafter  described  as  the  Muskogee  group,  is 
about  450  feet  thick  at  the  Kansas-Oklahoma  line,  but  in  the 
region  north  of  the  Choctaw  fault,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State,  the  same  group  has  an  approximate  thickness  of  9,000 
feet.  Part  of  the  apparent  thickening  in  this  instance  is  prob- 
ably caused  by  unconformity  by  overlap  on  the  Mississippian, 
but  much  of  it  is  doubtless  caused  by  normal  thickening  of 
strata  southward.  The  thickening  of  other  groups  from  north 
to  south,  while  not  so  conspicuous  as  in  the  case  mentioned,  is 
nevertheless  often  obvious. 

From  what  has  preceded,  it  will  be  evident  that  the  prob- 
lem of  the  proper  division  and  correlation  of  the  various  beds 
is,  in  the  absence  of  paleontological  data,  at  best  difficult.  In 
rare  cases  only,  may  any  single  ledge  of  either  limestone  or 
sandstone  be  traced  from  Kansas  line  southward  for  any  con- 
siderable  distance.  As  has  been  stated,  many  of  the  sand- 
stones and  a few  of  the  limestones  are  lenticular,  and  have  but 
a comparatively  limited  areal  extent.  These  conditions  have 
already  given  rise  to  considerable  confusion  in  folio  and  eco- 
nomic mapping,  and  it  is  feared  that,  as  this  work  progresses, 
the  complications  may  be  augmented.  It  is  with  the  hope  of 
lessening  the  possibility  of  confusion  in  the  application  of 
stratigraphic  terms  and  the  needless  multiplication  of  names 
in  the  future  that  this  article  has  been  prepared. 

PROPOSED  SOLUTION 

The  authors  are  convinced  that  the  problem  of  the  future 
division  and  correlation  of  the  various  beds  may  be  greatly 
simplified  by  dividing  all  the  rocks  in  the  region  into  a few 
general  groups,  the  limits  of  which  may  be  demarked  by  cer- 
tain conspicuous  ledges  of  limestone  and  sandstone  which 
extend  southward  from  the  Kansas  line.  After  studying  the 
region  in  considerable  detail,  it  has  been  found  that  there  are 
at  least  four  of  these  ledges  of  sufficient  importance  and  linear 
extent  along  the  line  of  outcrop  to  serve  as  adequate  group 


6 


markers,  which  groups  must,  of  course,  be  confirmed  by  paleon- 
tological evidence.  Beginning  on  the  east,  these  ledges  are 
as  follows: 

1.  The  Claremore  formation,  the  approximate  equiva- 
lent of  the  Fort  Scott  limestone  of  Kansas,  which  is  correlated 
with  the  Calvin  sandstone  in  the  Coalgate  folio. 

2.  The  Lenapah  limestone,  which  lies  at  the  approximate 

horizon  of  the  Upper  Parsons,  or  Coffeyville,  limestone  of 
Kansas.  I 

3.  The  Pawhuska  formation,  which  is  believed  to  be  the 
equivalent  of  the  Deer  Creek  and  Hartford  limestones  of 
Kansas. 

4.  The  Wreford  limestone,  which,  south  of  the  Cimar- 
ron River,  gives  way  to  the  Payne  sandstone. 

From  the  study  of  the  map  it  will  be  seen  that  these  four 
formations  trend  approximately  parallel  northeast  and  south- 
west, from  the  Kansas  line  toward  the  region  of  the  Arbuckle 
Mountains.  The  southern  extension  of  none  of  them  has  been 
definitely  located,  but  it  is  believed  that  accurate  field  studies 
will  fix  the  position  of  each  formation. 

PROPOSED  GROUPS 

It  is  therefore  proposed  to  demark  the  limits  of  four  gener- 
al groups  of  the  Pennsylvanian  rocks  of  eastern  Oklahoma 
as  follows: 

1.  The  Muskogee  Group,  including  all  the  rocks  from 
the  base  of  the  Pennsylvanian  series  to  the  base  of  the  Clare- 
more  formation.  The  name  proposed  is  that  of  Muskogee 
County  which  lies  near  the  center  of  the  area  occupied  by 
the  group. 

2.  The  Tulsa  Group,  including  everything  from  the  base 
of  the  Claremore  formation  to  the  base  of  the  Lenapah  lime- 
stone. The  name  is  from  Tulsa  County,  in  the  eastern  part 
of  which  the  rocks  of  the  group  are  well  exposed. 

3.  The  Sapulpa  Group,  including  the  rocks  between  the 
base  of  the  Lenapah  limestone  and  the  base  of  the  Pawhuska 
formation.  The  name  is  from  Sapulpa,  the  county  seat  of 
Creek  County. 


7 


4.  The  Ralston  Group,  including  everything  from  the 
base  of  the  Pawhuska  to  the  base  of  the  Wreford,  which  has 
usually  been  considered  the  base  of  the  Permian.  The  name 
here  proposed  is  from  the  town  of  Ralston  in  northern  Paw- 
nee County. 

In  proposing  these  groups,  the  authors  do  not  wish  to  be 
understood  as  attempting  to  fix  definitely  the  nomenclature 
of  the  region.  The  purpose  is  merely  to  provide  a compre- 
hensive yet  simple  scheme  of  classification  which  may  be 
followed  in  future  mapping.  The  classification  is  made  entire- 
ly upon  stratigraphic  and  lithologic  data. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  GROUPS 
THE  MUSKOGEE  GROUP 

Area.  The  Muskogee  group  includes  a series  of  rocks, 
chiefly  sandstones  and  shales,  extending  from  an  unconformi- 
ty at  the  top  of  the  Mississippian  series  on  the  east,  to  the 
base  of  the  Claremore  formation  and  its  approximate  southern 
equivalent,  the  Calvin  sandstone,  on  the  west.  In  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  State  it  includes  the  approximate  area  occupi- 
ed by  the  southern  continuation  of  the  Cherokee  shales  of 
Kansas ; in  its  southern  extension  it  includes  the  great  coal 
region  of  Oklahoma.  The  area  included  in  this  group  in 
Oklahoma  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Kansas  line,  and 
on  the  northeast  by  the  areas  occupied  by  Mississippian  rocks. 
On  the  east  the  Arkansas  line  is  the  boundary.  The  Choctaw 
fault,  the  Cretaceous  overlap  in  Atoka  County,  and  the  Ar- 
buckle  Mountains  demark  the  southern  limit.  It  includes  all 
or  part  of  the  following  counties  in  Oklahoma : Ottawa,  Craig, 
Mayes,  Rogers,  Wagoner,  Cherokee,  Okmulgee,'  Muskogee, 
Sequoyah,  Le  Flore,  Haskell,  McIntosh,  Okfuskee,  Hughes, 
Latimer,  Pittsburg,  Coal,  Pontotoc  and  Atoka. 

Stratigraphy.  Near  the  Kansas  line,  in  which  state  the 
name  Cherokee  shales  has  been  applied'  to  the  rocks  of  the 
group,  the  approximate  thickness  of  the  strata  is  450  feet  and 
consists  largely  of  shales,  with  local  beds  of  sandstone  and 
limestone  and  several  thin  beds  of  coal.  The  following  sec- 


8 


tion  from  Pryor  Creek  to  Claremore  made  by  Messrs.  Ohern 
and  Wolf  will  give  a fairly  comprehensive  idea  of  the  strata- 
graphy  at  that  place. 

SECTION,  Pryor  Creek  to  Claremore 
14.  Shale  with  a few  interbedded  sandstones. . 135  feet. 


13.  Massive,  medium-grained  sandstone 17  feet. 

12.  Shaly  sandstone 3 feet. 

11.  Argillaceous,  heavily-bedded',  fossiliferous 

limestone  2 feet. 

10.  Bluish  shale 35  feet. 

9.  Carbonaceous  shale  capped  by  six  inches 

of  ferruginous,  siliceous  limestone 3 feet. 

8.  Gray,  fine-grained  sandstone 7 feet. 

7.  Arenaceous  shale 70  feet. 

6.  Alternating  shales  and  sandstones 70  feet. 

5.  Argillaceous,  fossiliferous  limestone 8 feet. 

4.  Massive,  medium-grained  sandstone 37  feet. 

3.  Shaly  sandstone 8 feet. 

2.  Massive,  medium-grained  sandstone 14  feet. 

1.  Bluish  shale,  weathering  to  light  yellow, 

and  a few  inter-stratified  sandstones. ..... .550  feet. 


960  feet. 

In  the  Muskogee  folio,  Mr.  Taff  describes  two  formations, 
the  Boggy  and  the  Winslow,  the  latter  being  the  equivalent 
of  the  Hartshorne,  McAlester  and  Savannah  formations  as 
exposed  in  the  coal  fields  farther  south.  The  formations  above 
the  Boggy  have  not  been  described  in  Muskogee,  Okmulgee 
and  McIntosh  counties. 

The  stratigraphy  of  the  southern  part  of  the  Muskogee 
group  is  better  understood  than  that  of  any  other  part  of  the 
Pennsylvanian  series  in  Oklahoma.  Numerous  reports  and 
folios  bearing  upon  the  subject,  chiefly  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Taff,  whose  work  in  the  region  continued  almost  without  in- 
terrution  from  1895  to  1908,  have  given  us  a very  compre- 
hensive idea  of  the  stratigraphy,  structure,  and  economic1  re- 


9 


sources  of  the  coal  fields  of  the  State.  The  general  sequence 
of  the  formations  with  their  approximate  thickness  as  shown 
in  Coal  and  Hughes  counties  is  here  given,  the  oldest  below : 


Calvin  sandstones 

200 

feet. 

Senora  formation 

feet. 

Stuart  shale ... ..... 

feet. 

Thurman  sandstone 

feet. 

Boggy  shale 

2000 

feet. 

Savanna  sandstone 

1200 

feet. 

McAlester  shales  • • • • 

feet. 

Hartshorne  sandstone 

200 

feet. 

Atoka  formation 

3000 

feet. 

Total 

9550 

feet. 

This  entire  series  of  strata  is  coal-bearing.  In  Arkansas 
beds  of  considerable  thickness  occur  in  the  Atoka  formation, 
but  in  Oklahoma  these  beds  are  usually  thin  and  inconspi- 
cuous. The  McAlester  formation  contains  four  beds  of  work- 
able coal  and  a number  which  may  eventually  be  developed. 
The  Savanna  contains  at  least  three  and  the  Boggy  forma- 
tion two  workable  beds.  Several  occur  in  the  higher  forma- 
tions of  the  series,  particularly  one  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
Senora  which  is  mined  at  Henryetta,  Schulter  and  Morris.  In 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  area  occupied  by  rocks  of  the 
Muskogee  group  the  strata  have  been  extensively  folded,  and 
in  certain  places  faulted.  A series  of  anticlines  and  synclines 
have  their  axes  extending  northeast-southwest. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  in  this  connection  to  discuss  the 
problem  of  the  cause  of  the  thickening  of  the  various  beds  of 
the  Muskogee  group  to  the  south,  or  what  amounts  to  the 
same  thing,  the  thinning  of  the  beds  to  the  north.  It  has  usu- 
ally been  assumed  that  the  change  in  the  thickness  is  due 
largely  to  unconformity  by  overlap.  While  in  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge,  particularly  in  the  absence  of  com- 
plete paleontological  evidence,  it  would  be  extremely  unwise 
to  say  that  this  cause  did  not  obtain,  at  least  in  part,  still  in 
the  light  of  accumulating  evidence  it  seems  very  probable  that 


10 


we  must  look  elsewhere  for  reasons  to  account  for  a consider- 
able part  of  the  southern  thickening  of  the  beds. 

THE  TULSA  GROUP 

Area.  This  group  includes  all  the  rocks  lying  between 
the  base  of  the  Calvin-Claremore  formation  and  the  base  of 
the  ledge  which  in  Kansas  has  been  known  as  the  Upper  Par- 
sons or  Coffeyville  limestone,  but  which  in  a paper  by  Ohern, 
now  in  press,  is  designated  as  the  Lenapah  limestone.  The 
rocks  of  the  group  outcrop  on  the  surface  as  a band,  averag- 
ing 20  miles  in  width,  and  extending  from  the  Kansas  line 
south  to  the  region  of  the  Arbuckle  Mountains.  The  Lena- 
pah limestone  has  not  been  certainly  located  south  of  the 
North  Canadian  River,  although  there  is  reason  for  believing 
that  it  will  eventually  be  correlated  with  a limestone  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  Holdenville  formation,  which  outcrops  not 
far  from  the  town  of  Holdenville  in  Hughes  County,  and 
which  probably  extends  nearly  to  Ada.  The  rocks  of  the  Tul- 
sa group  occupy  all  or  part  of  the  following  counties : Craig, 
Nowata,  Rogers,  Tulsa,  Wagoner,  Okmulgee,  Okfuskee,  Coal, 
Hughes  and  Pontotoc. 

Stratigraphy.  The  rocks  of  the  Tulsa  group  as  exposed 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  include  formations  which  in 
Kansas  have  been  described  under  the  names  Fort  Scott  lime- 
stone, Labette  shales,  Pawnee  limestone,  Bandera  shales,  Al- 
tamont  limestone  and  Walnut  shales.  The  combined  thick- 
ness of  these  rocks  at  the  Kansas  line  is  about  250  feet;  far- 
ther south  this  thickness  is  much  greater. 

The  Fort  Scott  limestone,  known  to  the  oil  drillers  of  Kan- 
sas and  Oklahoma  as  the  Oswego  lime,  was  first  described 
in  Kansas,  where  is  consists  typically  of  two  limestone  mem- 
bers and  an  intervening  shale  member.  Ohern,  however, 
finds  that  in  northern  Oklahoma  a third  limestone  member 
comes  in  below  the  Fort  Scott  of  Kansas,  and  persists  at 
least  as  far  south  as  the  Arkansas  River.  For  this  formation, 
consisting  of  three  limestones  with  two  intervening  shale 
beds,  each  containing  coal,  in  a paper  now  in  press,  he  is  pro- 
posing to  use  the  name  Claremore. 


11 


The  Labette  shales,  named  and  described  in  Kansas,  ex- 
tend from  the  Kansas  line  southward  across  Oklahoma,  final- 
ly, on  the  disappearance  of  the  higher  limestones,  coalescing 
with  other  shales.  The  Pawnee  and  Altamont  (Lower  Par- 
sons) limestone,  which  at  the  Kansas  line  are  separated  by 
the  Bandera  shales,  come  together  in  southern  Nowata  Coun- 
ty and  form  a single  ledge,  the  Oologah,  the  “Big  lime”  of 
the  drillers.  The  ledge  extends  southward,  crosses  the  Ar- 
kansas River  near  Broken  Arrow  and  disappears  in  the  vicini- 
ty of  the  Concharty  Mountains. 

From  the  Arkansas  River  south  the  rocks  of  the  Tulsa 
group  consist  of  sandstones  and  shales  with  an  occasional 
lentil  of  limestone.  In  the  Coalgate  folio  Mr.  Taff  has  describ- 
ed the  following  formations  beginning  with  the  Calvin : 


Seminole  conglomerate 150  feet 

Holdenville  shale 250  feet 

Wewoka  formation •• • • 700  feet 

Wetumpka  shale....- 120  feet 

Calvin  sandstone .200  feet 


If,  in  the  above  section,  the  Tulsa  group  includes  the 
Calvin,  Wetumpka,  and  Wewoka  formations,  and  probably 
200  feet  or  more  of  the  Holdenville  formation,  this  would  in- 
dicate that  the  rocks  of  the  group  as  exposed  in  the  region 
south  of  the  Canadian  River  reach  a thickness  of  approximate- 
ly 1200  feet. 


THE  SAPULPA  GROUP 

Area.  The  rocks  which  constitute  the  Sapulpa  group  in- 
clude everything  from  the  base  of  the  Lenapah  limestone  to 
the  base  of  the  Pawhuska  formation  (as  that  term  was  used 
by  J.  P.  Smith)  as  these  formations  are  exposed  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  State.  Neither  the  Lenapah  nor  the  Pawhuska 
has  been  definitely  located  south  of  the  North  Canadian  River 
and  foj  that  reason  the  southern  limits  of  the  group  cannot 
now  be  accurately  demarked. 

The  area  included  in  the  group  averages  35  miles  in  width, 
extending  from  the  Kansas  line  south  to  the  vicinity  of  the 


12 


Arbuckle  Mountains.  It  includes  all  or  part  of  Nowata,  Wash- 
ington, Osage,  Pawnee,  Creek,  Tulsa,  Okmulgee,  Payne,  Lin- 
coln, Okfuskee,  Pottawatomie,  Seminole,  Pontotoc  and  prob- 
ably McClain,  Garvin  and  Murray  counties. 

Stratigraphy.  Included  in  the  Sapulpa  group  in  Oklaho- 
ma are  rocks  which  in  Kansas  have  been  described  under  the 
following  formation  names  : Coffeyville  limestone,  Pleasanton 
shales,  Bethany  Falls  limestone,  Ladore  shales,  Mound  Val- 
ley limestone,  Galesburg  shales,  Dennis  limestone,  Cherryvale 
shales,  Drum  limestone,  Chanute  shales,  Iola  limestone,  Lane 
shales,  Stanton  limestone,  LeRoy  shales,  Kickapoo  limestone, 
Lawrence  shales,  Oread  limestone,  Kanwaka  shales. 

The  approximate  combined  thickness  of  these  rocks  as 
exposed  in  southern  Kansas  is  1000  feet.  In  Oklahoma  the 
thickness  of  the  group  gradually  increases  until  at  the  Arkan- 
sas River  it  is  probably  1200  feet  or  more. 

So  far  as  known,  with  the  exception  of  the  Lenapah,  none 
of  the  limestone  ledges  exposed  in  Kansas  persist  as  far  south 
as  the  Arkansas  River.  The  Drum  limestone  splits  near  the 
Kansas  line,  and  the  lower  member,  which  Ohern  calls  the 
Hogshooter,  disappears  some  twenty  miles  north  of  Tulsa. 
The  upper  member  of  the  Drum  disappears  soon  after  cross- 
ing the  State  line.  Two  limestone  lentils,  the  Dewey  and 
Avant,  come  in  not  far  from  Bartlesville  and  persist  beyond 
the  Arkansas  River  where  they  also  disappear.  As  the  lime- 
stones disappear  near  the  Kansas  line,  sandstones  become 
prominent  and  farther  south  increase  in  thickness  until  they 
make  up  a considerable  part  of  the  rocks  of  the  group,  al- 
though, as  in  other  parts  of  the  general  region  occupied  by 
Pennsylvanian  deposits,  shales  are  the  predominating  rock. 

No  accurate  section  has  ever  been  made  across  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  region  occupied  by  rocks  of  the  Sapulpa  group, 
and  for  that  reason  it  is  impossible  to  do  more  than  to  ap- 
proximate the  thickness  of  the  group  along  the  Canadian 
River,  but  it  is  probable  that  in  this  region  it  is  somewhere 
between  1500  and  2000  feet.  ' 

In  its  southwestern  extension,  the  Sapulpa  group  passes 
into  and  includes  the  eastern  part  of  the  Oklahoma  Redbeds, 


13 


being  part  of  the  so-called  Chandler  beds.  The  approximate 
line  of  transition  from  non-red  to  red  rocks,  in  other  words  the 
eastern  line  of  the  Redbeds,  is  indicated  on  the  map. 

THE  RALSTON  GROUP 

Area.  The  Ralston  group  includes  the  rocks  in  the  up- 
per part  of  the  Pennsylvanian  series,  beginning  at  the  base 
of  the  Pawhuska  formation  and  extending  to  the  base  of  the 
Wreford  limestone  and  its  southern  continuation,  the  Payne 
sandstone,  which  has  usually  been  considered  the  base  of  the 
Permian. 1 The  group  is  exposed  as  a band  averaging  30 
miles  in  width  extending  parallel  to  the  other  groups  describ- 
ed in  this  paper,  from  the  Kansas  line  south  toward  the  Ar- 
buckle  Mountains. 

Neither  the  Pawhuska  formation  nor  the  Payne  sand- 
stone has  been  definitely  located  as  far  south  as  the  North 
Canadian  River  and  consequently  the  limits  of  the  southern 
part  of  the  Ralston  group  which  is  exposed  in  Lincoln,  Ok- 
lahoma, Pottawatomie,  Cleveland,  McClain  and  Garvin  coun- 
ties, can  not  be  accurately  demarked.  In  the  northern  part 
of  the  State,  this  group  is  exposed  in  Osage,  Kay,  Pawnee, 
Payne  and  Lincoln  counties. 

Stratigraphy.  The  equivalents  of  the  following  formations 
in  Kansas,  the  combined  thickness  of  which  is  approximately 
800  feet,  are  included  in  the  Ralston  group  as  the  latter  is 
exposed  in  northern  Oklahoma : 

Lecompton  limestone,  Tecumseh  shales,  Deer  Creek  lime- 
stone, Calhoun  shales,  Topeka  limestone,  Severy  shales,  How- 
ard limestone,  Scranton  shales,  Burlingame  limestone,  Wil- 
lard shales,  Emporia  limestone,  Admire  shales,  Americus  lime- 
stone, Elmdale  formation,  Neva  limestone,  Eskridge  shales, 
Cottonwood  limestone,  Florena  shales,  Neosho  formation. 

These  formations  are  exposed  along  the  Flint  Hills  in 
southern  Kansas,  but  near  the  Oklahoma  line  most  of  the 
limestone  members  thin  out  and  disappear,  while  sandstones 

1.  Beede  now  considers  the  Elmdale  as  the  provisional  base  of 
the  Permian. 


14 


come  in  and  thicken  to  the  south.  No  accurate  section  across 
the  group  has  been  made  in  Oklahoma  but  it  is  probable  that 
the  group  does  not  thicken  to  the  south  as  rapidly  as  do  the 
groups  heretofore  described.  In  fact,  there  is  some  evidence 
which  indicates  that  in  Lincoln,  Pottawatomie  and  Cleveland 
counties  the  rocks  representing  the  southern  extension  of  the 
Ralston  group  are  not  so  thick  as  they  are  farther  north. 

In  southern  Pawnee  and  northern  Payne  counties,  the 
color  of  the  rocks  in  the  Ralston  group  changes  and  becomes 
a deep  brick-red  and  so  continues  to  the  southern  limits. 
This  area  includes  the  greater  part  of  the  so-called  Chandler 
beds  mentioned  above. 

HIGHER  ROCKS 

Above  the  Ralston  group,  the  sequence  of  limestones  and 
shales  with  occasional  sandstones  continues  uninterruptedly 
for  several  hundred  feet.  The  Kansas  geologists  have  de- 
scribed these  rocks  under  the  following  names,  the  oldest  be- 
low : 

Wellington  shales 
Marion  formation 
Winfield  limestone 
Doyle  shales 
Fort  Riley  limestone 
Florence  flint 
Matfield  shales 
Wreford  limestone 

The  limestones  contain  much  flint,  which,  being  resistant, 
withstands  erosion,  giving  rise  to  a series  of  pronounced  es- 
carpments, which,  in  southern  Kansas,  constitute  the  Flint 
Hills.  The  rocks  of  the  Marion  are  less  resistant,  and  form 
few  pronounced  escarpments.  The  Wellington  shales  are  all 
soft  rocks  and  weather  into  a flat  plain. 

In  Oklahoma,  all  these  formations  pass  into  the  Redbeds 
along  the  line  indicated  on  the  map.  Several  of  the  lime- 
stones, particularly  the  Wreford,  the  Florence  and  the  Fort 
Riley,  extend  several  miles  into  the  Redbeds  before  finally 


15 


losing  their  color  and  merging  with  red  sandstones  and  shales. 

This  peculiarity  of  relations  is  represented  on  the  map 
in  Kay  and  adjoining  counties,  where  there  is  exposed  an  area 
of  non-red  Permian  rocks,  triangular  in  shape,  bounded  by 
the  Kansas  line,  the  Wreford  limestone  and  the  eastern  mar- 
gin of  the  Redbeds. 

University  Geological  Laboratory, 

March  1,  1910. 


THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 
RESEARCH  BULLETIN 


NUMBER  4 


D.  W.  OHERN 


':V 

— 


-v/.,;*  onjit  < 4 

: 

THE  STRATIGRAPHY  OF  THE  OLDER 
PENNSYLV  AIN  AN  ROCKS  OF 
NORTHEASTERN  OKLAHOMA 


- . 

llpf 

/,<  *»v  • * ’ 

*$>  WT  ' 


NORMAN 

THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
DECEMBER  1,  1910 


v ANNOUNCEMENT 

The  STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA  RE- 
SEARCH BULLETIN  is  issued  at  irregular  intervals.  It  is 
devoted  to  the  publication  of  the  results  of  research  by  mem- 
bers of  the  university.  One  paper  constitutes  an  issue  and  the 
different  issues  are  numbered  consecutively  in  the  order  of 
their  appearance.  Exchanges  with  other  institutions  and 
learned  societies  everywhere  are  solicited.  All  EXCHANGES 
should  be  addressed  to  the  LIBRARY  OF  THE  STATE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA,  NORMAN,  OKLA.,  U. 

s.  a.  ^ ' 


PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE 

:y  D.  W^OHERN,  Chairman 

J.  S.  BUCHANAN  JEROME  DOWD 

HENRY  MEIER  H.  H.  LANE  . 

T.  H.  BREWER 

■ \v'r. 

The  Committee  does  not  assume  responsibility  for  the 
contents  of  the  RESEARCH  BULLETIN.  Each  author  is 
to  be  given  enti**e  credit  for  his  own  subject-matter. 


THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OKLAHOMA 
RESEARCH  BULLETIN 


NUMBER  4 


THE  STRATIGRAPHY  OF  THE  OLDER 
PENNSYLVANIAN  ROCKS  OF 
NORTHEASTERN  OKLAHOMA 


BY 

D.  W.  OHERN 


NORMAN 

THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
DECEMBER  1,  1910 


\ 


I 


r 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Introduction  5 

Work  done  by  previous  writers 5 

Geography  and  topography 8 

General  structure 10 

Stratigraphy  10 

The  Muskogee  group 11 

Vinita  formation  12 

The  Tulsa  group 15 

Claremore  formation  15 

Labette  shale  17 

Oolagah  formation  19 

Nowata  shale  23 

The  Sapulpa  group  25 

Northern  area  25 

Lenapah  limestone  25 

Curl  formation  26 

Wann  formation  28 

Hogshooter  limestone  member 28 

Copan  member  29 

Dewey  limestone  lentil 30 

Avant  limestone  lentil 31 

Other  lentils  32 

Stanton  limestone  member 32 

Higher  rocks  34 

Southern  area  34 

Skiatook  format -on 34 

Ramona  formation 35 

Correlation  

Conditions  of  sedimentatoin  and  source  of  sediments 39 


5 


INTRODUCTION. 

Rocks  of  Pennsylvanian  age  outcrop  in  most  of  eastern 
Oklahoma.  The  region  discussed  in  this  contribution  lies  prin- 
cipally north  of  the  Arkansas  River  and  between  the  western 
limit  of  the  Boone  chert  and  the  ninety-sixth  meridian.  It  is 
geologically  continuous  with  the  area  occupied  by  rocks  of 
the  same  age  in  southeastern  Kansas.  Very  little  systematic 
work  had  been  done  in  this  region  until  that  undertaken  by 
the  writer  in  the  field  seasons  of  1908  and  1909.  During  this 
time  considerable  advance  was  made  in  the  study  of  these 
rocks  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  results  herein  set  forth  will,  in 
a measure,  contribute  to  our  knowledge  of  the  geology  of  this 
area. 

It  is  impossible  to  discuss  the  history  of  geological  work 
in  northeastern  Oklahoma,  without  constant  reference  to  that 
done  in  contiguous  territory  in  Kansas.  The  geology  of  the 
Carboniferous  of  the  two  states  is  inseparable,  and  while  it  is 
not  possible  here  to  refer  in  detail  to  the  work  done  by  each 
investigator  in  Kansas,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  each 
contributed  to  the  geology  of  Oklahoma  whether  he  actually 
worked  in  the  State  or  not. 

The  writer  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to 
Chas.  N.  Gould,  director  of  the  Oklahoma  Geological  Survey, 
for  courtesies  shown  and  valuable  assistance  given  in  the  pre- 
paration of  this  paper.  Acknowledgements  are  due  also  to 
L.  L.  Hutchison  and  Chas.  H.  Taylor  who  have  made  valuable 
suggestions.  Gould  and  Taylor  have  read  the  manuscript 
and  offered  criticisms. 


WORK  DONE  BY  PREVIOUS  WRITERS 

Probably  the  earliest  published  account  of  the  geology  of 
the  region  is  by  Jules  Marcou  in  1855.  (1)  This  writer  spent 
from  1848  to  1854  in  this  country  and  a small  part  of  this 
period  was  devoted  to  the  study  of  what  is  now  Oklahoma. 
The  geological  map  accompanying  his  brief  treatise  represents 
in  a general  way  the  occurrence  of  the  Lower  and  Upper  Car- 
boniferous as  they  exist  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State.  In 

1.  Published  by  permission  of  the  Director  of  the  Oklahoma  Geo- 
logical Survey. 

1.  La  Terrain  Carbonifere  dans  L’Amerique  du  Nord.  Geneva, 

June,  1855. 


6 


writing  of  the  Upper  Carboniferous  west  of  the  Mississippi 

River,  he  says:  “ ses  limites sont  basees  sur  les 

observations  faites  dans  diverses  des  ses  partes  par  Nicolet, 
D.  ID.  Owen,  H.  King,  G.  G.  Shumard  et  par  moi.”  (2) 

In  1897,  N.  F.  Drake  published  a reconnaissance  map  of 
the  then  Indian  Territory  coal  field.  The  rocks  referred  by 
him  to  the  Upper  Carboniferous  were  divided  into  the  “Lower 
Coal  Measures,”  the  “Cavaniol  group”  and  the  “Poteau 
group.”  (3)  The  base  of  the  Permian  he  has  drawn  appar- 
ently at  the  lower  limit  of  the  Pawhuska  limestone,  although 
his  map  is  sadly  in  discord  with  his  section  given  on  page  279. 
But  even  the  Pawhuska  limestone  is  far  below  the  Wreford 
limestone  whose  base  is  now  believed  to  be  the  lower  Per- 
mian. (4)  His  contact  lines,  also,  have  been  shown  to  be 
erroneous,  not  following  the  strike.  (5)  His  work  is  so  gen- 
eral and  inaccurate  as  to  be  of  little  value  for  the  region  under 
discussion. 

G.  I.  Adams  in  1901  made  a preliminary  study  of  the 
geology  of  northeastern  Oklahoma  but  the  work  was  subsi- 
diary to  the  elucidation  of  the  geology  of  the  Upper  Carboni- 
ferous of  Kansas.  His  observations  in  Oklahoma  were  con- 
fined largely  to  the  Claremore  formation  and  Hogshooter 
limestone.  -The  results  are  embodied  in  Bulletin  211  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey. 

From  1900  to  1907,  C.  N.  Gould  made  several  excursions 
into  the  region,  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the 
conditions  of  underground  water.  While  the  area  he  studied 
lies  largely  to  the  west  of  that  here  considered,  he  neverthe- 
less made  a number  of  observations  of  prime  importance  to 
the  present  discussion.  (6) 


6.  Water  Supply  and  Irrigation  paper  No.  148,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1905, 
pp.  28  et  seq.  Am.  Jour.  Sci.  4 ser.,  Vol.  XI,  1901,  pp.  185-190. 


2.  Loc.  cit.  pp.  20,  21. 


3.  A Geological  Reconnaissance  of  the  Coal  Field  of  the  Indian 
Territory.  Proc.  Am.  Phil.  Soc.,  Vol.  XXXVI,  1897,  pp.  326-419. 


4.  Prosser,  C.  S.,  Review  of  the  Classification  of  the  Upper  Paleo- 
zoic Formations  of  Kansas.  Jour.  Geol.,  Vol.  10,  1902,  table  op.  p. 
718.  (See  Beede,  J.  W.,  Jour.  Geol.,  Vol.  XVII,  p.  710,  for  revision, 
of  data.) 


5.  Adams,  G.  I.  Bui.  184,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1902,  p.  158. 


7 


C.  E.  Siebenthal,  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
spent  about  six  weeks  in  1907  doing  reconnaissance  work  in 
the  region.  The  object  of  his  observations  was,  however, 
chiefly  economic,  but  he  made  some  substantial  contributions 
to  the  stratigraphy  and  structure  of  the  region. 

Up  to  the  present,  considerable  confusion  has  existed  as 
to  the  continuity  of  the  Drum  limestone  of  the  Kansas  geolo- 
gists. Siebenthal  believed  that  this  limestone  does  not  extend 
south  of  Opposum  Creek.  (7)  This  is  a very  natural  infer- 
ence on  first  studying  the  region ; and  the  same  conclusion  was 
reached  by  the  writer  when  a preliminary  study  was  made  of 
this  formation ; but  subsequent  detailed  work  demonstrates 
this  to  be  an  eror,  as  will  be  shown  later. 

The  same  author  believed  that  the  limestone  at  the  Port- 
land cement  plant  at  Dewey  is  the  Piqua  of  the  Independence 
quadrangle.  (3)  It  will  be  shown  hereafter  that  this  lime- 
stone lies  far  below  the  horizon  of  the  Piqua.  The  grounds 
upon  which  Siebanthal  stated  his  belief  seem  to  be  that  the 
limestone  which  is  being  quarried  at  the  cement  plant  at 
Dewey  lies  above  the  shaly  sandstone  which  he  took  to  be 
the  Wilson  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey.  However, 
it  will  be  shown  that  the  prominent  escarpment  running  south- 
ward from  the  Kansas  line  just  west  of  Coffeyville  and  ex- 
tending to  a point  west  of  Nowata  is  not  formed  by  the  Wil- 
son but  by  a thickened  member  of  the  Coffeyville  formation  of 
the  Independence  quadrangle. 

During  the  field  seasons  of  1905  and  1906,  L.  L.  Hutchi- 
son, at  that  time  a student  in  the  Oklahoma  State  University, 
made  further  advance  in  our  knowledge  of  these  rocks.  His 
results  may  be  found  in  his  dissertation  in  the  University  li- 
brary. 

The  work  by  the  writer  covered  the  field  seasons  of  1908 
and  1909  and  several  periods  of  shorter  duration.  Pie  has 
been  ably  assisted  by  several  of  the  advanced  students  of  the 
department  of  geology  in  Oklahoma  State  University. 

In  the  autumn  of  1908,  Rev.  John  Bennett  spent  several 
weeks  in  the  region  in  the  employ  of  the  Oklahoma  Geologi- 
cal Survey.  His  results  are  not  published  but  the  writer  is 
indebted  to  him  for  several  disclosures,  more  especially  in 
connection  with  the  stratigraphy  of  the  horizon  of  the  Drum 
and  succeeding  limestones. 

7.  Bui.  340  U.  S.  G.  S.,  p.  195. 


8.  Ib,  pp.  195,  220. 


8 


GEOGRAPHY  AND  TOPOGRAPHY 

Practically  the  entire  region  under  discussion  is  drained 
by  the  Verdigris  and  Grand  rivers  and  their  tributaries.  In 
Oklahoma,  the  latter  stream  derives  its  waters  principally 
from  the  area  underlaid  by  the  Boone  chert  and  the  Vinita 
formation,  while  the  former  drains  chiefly  higher  formations. 

Speaking  generally,  the  region  consists  of  broad,  flat  val- 
leys near  the  major  streams  and  rather  high,  rough  areas  on 
the  divides.  Owing  to  the  alternation  of  hard  and  soft  strata, 
the  former  being  sandstones  and  limestones,  and  to  the  low 
westward  dip  of  the  rocks,  several  prominent  escarpments 
result.  The  most  eastward  of  these  is  that  made  by  the 
heavy  sandstones  lying  somewhat  above  the  middle  of  the 
Vinita  formation.  It  is  well  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  Vinita  and 
especially  just  west  of  the  town  of  Pryor  Creek. 

The  second  escarpment,  usually  fairly  well  defined,  is 
made  by  a series  of  limestones  and  sandstones  with  some 
intervening  shales,  for  which  the  name  Claremore  formation 
is  herein  proposed.  This  escarpment  crosses  the  state  line 
about  five  miles  west  of  Grand  River  and  runs  southwestward- 
ly,  passing  about  two  miles  east  of  Centralia,  thence  to  Chel- 
sea and  Claremore.  South  of  Catoosa  it  loses  its  sharpness  of 
definition,  owing  to  the  pronounced  development  of  resistant 
strata  both  above  and  below. 

The  Pawnee  limestone  and  its  southern  extension,  the 
Oologah,  also  make  a prominent  escarpment  lying  to  the 
westward  of  that  just  outlined.  It  is  very  marked  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  area,  especially  at  the  head  of  Big  Creek.  It 
crosses  the  Veridgris  River  just  northeast  of  Nowata  and 
makes  the  lower  part  of  the  west  bluff  of  that  stream  south- 
ward to  Catoosa.  Here  the  stream  veers  to  the  eastward 
while  the  bluff  can  be  traced  southward  to  the  vicinity  of 
Broken  Arrow.  Beyond,  it,  in  turn,  becomes  indistinct  for  the 
same  reason  as  does  the  escarpment  caused  by  the  Claremore 
formation. 

The  fourth  marked  escarpment  crosses  the  state  line  about 
two  miles  west  of  Coffeyville,  Kansas,  and  continues  south- 
ward a few  miles  beyond  a point  west  of  Nowata.  There  it 
turns  westward  around  the  head  waters  of  Hogshooter,  Cedar 
and  Coon  creeks.  West  of  Caney  River  and  south  of  Bartles- 
ville, its  effect  is  blended  with  that  of  associated  strata. 

This  escarpment  at  the  Kansas  line  is  formed  by  the  Drum 
limestone  and  overlying  sandstones ; and  while  it  is  continu- 
ous to  Nowata,  it  is  there  due,  as  previously  mentioned,  to 


the  marked  development  of  subjacent  sandstones.  A fuller 
discussion  of  the  stratigraphic  relations  will  be  given  in  proper 
order. 

West  of  Little  Caney  River,  a marked  escarpment  is  made 
by  a series  of  massive,  thick-bedded  sandstones  and  lime- 
stones. It  crosses  the  Caney  River  in  the  Osage  region  sev- 
eral miles  above  Bartlesville  and  continues  southward  along 
the  96th  meridian  to  and  beyond  Tulsa.  South  of  the  limit 
of  the  Nowata  quadrangle,  its  line  becomes  very  irregular, 
owing  to  streams  of  some  magnitude  which  flow  against  the 
dip  of  the  strata. 

Early  in  his  studies  the  writer  discovered  that  southward 
from  a point  some  miles  north  of  Ochelata  this  escarpment 
is  due  to  successively  lower  strata.  C.  D.  Smith,  of  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey,  demonstrated  to  the  writer  that  the 
same  is  true  to  the  north  also.  .Successive  sandstones  turn 
westward  to  be  placed  by  others  which  develop  below  them 
and  continue  the  bluff  southward. 

In  addition  to  the  escarpments  thus  briefly  described,  the 
divides  between  the  more  prominent  streams  are  characteriz- 
ed by  rolling  or  rough  topography.  In  practically  every  in- 
stance this  is  due  to  the  incisions  made  by  the  smaller  streams 
through  the  more  resistant  strata  into  the  softer  subjacent 
shales.  A marked  feature  of  this  rolling  topography  is  that  it 
is  to  be  found  chiefly  just  to  the  eastward  of  the  major  streams. 
It  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  gradient  of  the  smaller  streams, 
near  their  sources,  is  greater  than  the  dip  of  the  rocksv  Thus, 
the  drainage  channels  cut  through  the  hard  strata  which  make 
the  eastward  facing  escarpments  and  form  the  rough  topo- 
graphy of  much  of  the  region.  This  situation  is  especially 
marked  east  of  the  Verdigris  River  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
area  under  consideration. 

The  incisions  described  make  the  interpretation  of  the 
structure  of  the  region  a much  simpler  task  than  is  the  case 
when  the  dip  of  the  rocks  exceeds  the  gradient  of  the  streams. 
For  in  not  a few  instances  the  strata  may  be  traced  for  sev- 
eral miles  along  the  banks  of  one  of  these  minor  streams,  en- 
abling the  observer  thus  to  determine  precisely  the  amount 
and  variation  of  the  dip.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  occur- 
rence of  oil  and  gas  is  so  closely  related  to  the  structure,  a 
study  of  the  outcrops  along  these  small  streams  is  deemed  of 
great  importance. 

The  major  streams,  as  a whole,  make  a feeble  attempt  to 
run  parallel  to  the  strike  of  the  rocks,  following  the  soft  strata. 
When  they  cross  the  more  resistant  rock,  they  follow  the 


10 


shortest  line.  A close  study  of  the  streams  thus  assists  one  in 
an  interpretation  of  the  structure  of  the  region.  This  feature 
becomes  all  the  more  important  when  it  is  remembered  that 
along  the  channels  of  these  streams  the  older  rocks  are  almost 
entirely  concealed  by  river  deposits.  Seldom  can  any  of  the 
limestones  be  traced  across  the  floodplains  and  channels  of 
the  major  streams,  especially  in  times  of  high  water;  but  one 
is  usually  safe  in  saying  that  a resistant  stratum  crosses  the 
stream  where  the  latter  turns  suddenly  to  the  eastward. 

The  striking  feature  of  practically  all  the  streams  is  that 
they  occupy  very  deep  channels.  In  dry  seasons  many  of 
these  may  be  seen  to  be  holding  stagnant  water  of  consider- 
able depth,  showing  that  the  streams,  where  they  flow  on  the 
softer  rock,  scoop  out  excavations  below  the  general  bed. 
These  deep  channels  control  to  a marked  degree  the  cross- 
country travel  of  the  entire  region,  for  it  is  onty  at  favored 
places  that  a crossing  can  be  made  by  ford. 

GENERAL  STRUCTURE 

The  low,  westward  dip  prevailing  in  the  Upper  Carboni- 
ferous region  of  Kansas  obtains  also  for  rocks  of  the  same 
age  in  Oklahoma.  This  rarely  exceeds  60  feet  to  the  mile  and 
generally  is  much  less,  15  or  20  feet  being  perhaps  the  average. 
Occasionally  slight  easterly  dips  are  to  be  detected.  More 
often,  however,  this  usual  westerly  dip  is  varied  by  northeast- 
southwest  anticlines.  In  a few  instances  these  can  be  observ- 
ed by  the  eye  or  detected  by  a clinometer ; but  more  often  ob- 
servation over  a considerable  area  is  required  to  reveal  them. 
It  is  along  these  anticlines  that  the  great  oil  pools  of  the  region 
are  located.  A detailed  discussion  of  the  structure  will  be 
made  in  a succeeding  paper  on  this  area. 

STRATIGRAPHY 

General  Features:  The  lower  Pennsylvanian  rocks  of 
northeastern  Oklahoma  are  a series  of  shales,  limestones  and 
sandstones.  While  the  latter  play  a leading  role  in  the  topo- 
graphy, they  are  usually  thin  and  lenticular  except  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  region.  Owing  to  their  massive  charac- 
ter, polygonal  fragments  of  widely  varying  sizes  are  to  be 
found  over  areas  that  are  altogether  out  of  proportion  to  the 
relative  thickness  of  the  beds.  These  fragments  find  their 
way  down  the  slopes  and  give  the  appearance  of  vast  thick- 
nesses of  strata.  Not  infrequently  a bed  of  only  a foot  or 


► 


11 


two  in  thickness  may  be  the  cause  of  a ridge  or  hill  of  con- 
siderable magnitude. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  lithologic  feature  of  the  sand- 
stones as  a whole  is  their  sameness.  Only  in  a few  instances 
has  the  writer  been  able  to  use  lithologic  character  as  a means 
of  identification  of  beds.  Generally  they  are  medium-  to  fine- 
grained, light  colored  when  fresh,  but  becoming  reddish  or 
brownish  on  weathering.  Some  of  the  more  massive  beds 
show  a marked  tendency  toward  concentric  weathering.  This 
is  the  case  especialy  with  the  younger  sandstones  here  dis- 
cussed. 

Likewise  the  limestones,  when  fresh,  show  a marked 
sameness  in  color  and  texture.  On  weathering,  however, 
changes  result  which  are  of  great  value  in  identifying  indivi- 
dual beds.  Since  it  is  by  means  of  limestones  almost  wholly 
that  contact  lines  are  drawn,  this  value  greatly  increases. 

It  is  perhaps  in  the  shales  that  the  greatest  diversity  of 
lithologic  character  is  to  be  found.  But  they  are  seldom  ex- 
posed. Only  rarely  can  they  be  found  capping  eminences.  For 
the  most  part,  the  sandstones  and  limestones  effectually  con- 
ceal the  subjacent  shales.  Although  the  latter  occupy  the  sur- 
face over  considerable  areas  in  the  lower  stretches  of  country, 
unaltered  shales  are  seldom  seen.  While,  therefore,  they  are 
of  first  importance  as  regards  thickness,  they  can  rarely  be 
used  as  criteria  in  mapping. 

The  Pennsylvanian  rocks  of  eastern  Oklahoma  have  been 
tentatively  divided  by  Gould,  Ohern  and  Hutchison  into  four 
groups,  the  Muskogee,  the  Tulsa,  the  Sapulpa  and  the  Rals- 
ton. (9)  Of  these,  the  last  does  not  occur  in  the  region  under 
discussion.  The  others  will  be  treated  in  order. 

MUSKOGEE  GROUP 

Under  the  term  Muskogee  Group  are  included  “All  the 
rocks  from  the  base  of  the  Pennsylvanian  series  to  the  base 
of  the  Claremore  formation.”  The  rocks  are  chiefly  shales 
and  sandstones.  The  lower  limit  is  sharply  marked  by  an 
unconformity,  below  which  lies  the  Boone  chert,  or  the  Pitkin 
limestone  or  its  equivalent.  The  fauna  of  the  Pitkin  is  shown 
by  Girty,  and  the  view  is  supported  by  Ulrich,  to  be  Mississip- 
pian,  while  that  of  the  limestone  lenses  in  the  superjacent 
Morrow  formation  is  Pennsylvanian.  (19) 

The  stratigraphy  of  this  group  is  but  imperfectly  known 


9.  This  series  No.  3. 


10.  Folio  122,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1905,  p.  5. 


12 


north  of  the  Arkansas  river.  Of  the  fauna  little  or  nothing  is 
known.  All  things  considered  it  is  thought  best  to  include  all 
the  rocks  under  one  formation  for  the  present. 

Vinita  Formation 

Definition:  At  the  base  of  the  Pennsylvanian  series  in 
northeastern  Oklahoma,  lies  a succession  of  shales  with  inter- 
stratified  sandstones,  thin  beds  of  coal  and  lenticular  lime- 
stones. For  this  series  the  term  Vinita  formation  is  here  pro- 
posed from  the  town  of  Vinita  where  it  is  well  develop- 
ed. (11)  As  here  defined  it  includes  all  the  rocks  of  the  Mus- 
kogee group.  It  should  be  clearly  understood,  however,  that 
this  definition  is  not  intended  to  apply  south  of  the  Arkansas 
River,  and  even  for  some  miles  north  of  that  stream  little  is 
known  concerning  the  lower  beds  of  the  Vinita. 

The  Vinita  formation  is  the  approximate  equivalent  of 
the  Cherokee  shales  of  Kansas.  But  it  is  believed  that  the 
tipper  limit  here  defined  is  below  the  upper  limit  of  the  Chero- 
kee. Sufficient  detailed  work  has  not  yet  been  done  to  dis- 
cuss the  formation  in  full  and  certain  statements  here  made 
must  be  regarded  as  tentative. 

Area:  The  Vinita  formation  occupies  a belt  varying  in 
width  from  twelve  to  thirty  miles  and  extending  from  the 
Kansas  line  near  Chetopa  southwest  to  the  Arkansas  River. 
It  is  widely  exposed  in  the  vicinity  of  Vinita,  Claremore, 
Wagoner  and  along  the  lower  course  of  the  Verdigris  River. 
Its  areal  extent  exceeds  that  of  any  other  formation  under  dis- 
cussion. Over  much  of  the  area  is  to  be  found  a rough  sur- 
face due  to  heavy  sandstones. 

Thickness:  The  Cherokee  shales  at  the  southern  Kansas 
line  have  a thickness  of  450  feet.  (12)  The  maximum  in  Kan- 
sas is  about  650  feet,  the  average  being  about  450.  (13)  South- 
ward the  Vinita  formation  appears  to  thicken  rapidly.  At 
Pryor  Creek  it  is  about  1,000  feet.  The  writer  and  Key4 
Wolf  made  the  following  section  beginning  at  the  cemetery 
one  mile  east  of  the  town  of  Pryor  Creek  and  extending  to 
Claremore : 

14.  Shale,  with  a few  interbedded  sandstones 135  feet 

11.  Hutchison  suggests  this  name  in  his  unpublished  work. 


12.  Sicbenthal,  C.  E.  Bui.  340,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1908,  p.  191. 


13.  Adams,  G.  I.  Bui.  211,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1903,  p.  28;  Haworth  and 
Bennett,  Univ.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  Vol.  IX,  1908,  (distributed  Novem- 
ber, 1909),  pp.  76,  77. 


13 


13.  Massive,  medium-grained  sandstone 17  feet 

12.  Shaly  sandstone  3 feet 

11.  Argillaceous,  heavily-bedded,  fossiliferous  lime- 
stone   2^4  feet 

10.  Bluish  shale 35  feet 

9.  Carbonaceous  shale,  capped  by  six  inches  of  fer- 
ruginous, siliceous  limestone 3 feet 

8.  Gray,  fine-grained  sandstone 7 feet 

7.  Arenaceous  shale  70  feet 

6.  Alternating  shales  and  sandstones 70  feet 

5.  Argillaceous,  fossiliferous  limestone 8 feet 

4.  Massive,  medium-grained  sandstone 37  feet 

3.  Shaly  sandstone  8 feet 

2.  Massive,  medium-grained  sandstone 14  feet 

1.  Bluish  shale,  weathering  to  a light-yellow,  and  a 

few  interstratified  sandstones 550  feet 


960  feet 

Discussion  of  the  Pryor  Creek-Claremore  Section:  No 
1 is  well  exposed  in  the/  vicinity  of  the  town  of  Pryor 
Creek.  The  thickness  was  ascertained  by  careful  determina- 
tion of  the  dip  of  its  upper  surface  and  of  the  distance  between 
its  eastern  and  western  limits.  It  may  be  called  the  Pryor 
Creek  shale  and  is  probably  the  approximate  equivalent  of 
Drake’s  Lower  Coal  Measures. 

Excellent  exposures  of  No.  2 may  be  seen  on  the  high 
point  five  miles  due  west  of  the  town  of  Pryor  Creek.  It  makes 
the  lower  part  of  the  escarpment  running  north  and  south  from 
this  point. 

No.  3 is  to  be  seen  on  the  hill  just  to  the  south  of  the  one 
just  mentioned  and  is  scarcely  more  than  a shaly  phase  of 
Nos.  2 and  4.  At  its  base  is  a stratum  of  carbonaceous  shale 
which  may  accompany  coal. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  it  is  in  the  Vinita  formation  that 
practically  all  the  oil  in  the  northeastern  Oklahoma  field  oc- 
curs, it  is  surprising  that  so  little  work  has  been  done  on  the 
stratigraphy.  As  appears  from  the  section  there  are  two  sand- 
stones which  stand  out  prominently,  Nos.  2 to  4 inclusive 
(which  may  be  regarded  as  a unit)  and  No.  13.  While  sand- 
stones are  lenticular,  yet  one  might  naturally  expect  these  to 
be  petroliferous  horizons. 

No.  4 is  well  seen  in  the  same  place  as  No.  2 and  is  one 
of  the  most  massive  sandstones  of  the  entire  older  Pennsyl- 
vanian rocks  of  the  region. 

No.  5 is  observed  to  lie  in  fragments  on  the  top  of  the  hill 


14 


above  mentioned.  A better  exposure  may  be  seen  on  the  east 
section  line  of  Sec.  13,  T.  12  N.,  R.  17  E.  It  is  also  exposed  in 
a ravine  in  the  S.  E.  1-4  of  the  same  section. 

No.  6 contains  at  least  four  beds  of  sandstone  whose  thick- 
ness could  not  be  determined  but  each  is  seemingly  three  or 
four  feet  thick.  The  upper  one  is  somewhat  concretionary 
and  weathers  into  a red  soil.  It  may  be  seen  at  the  base  of 
the  hill  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Sec.  15,  T.  21  N.,  R.  17  E. 

Much  of  No.  7 is  exposed  on  the  hill  just  mentioned,  the 
top  having  been  removed. 

No.  8 caps  the  mound  on  the  north  side  of  Sec.  16  . 

No.  9 is  seen  in  the  same  place.  It  is  a hard  ferruginous 
siliceous  limestone  with  a jasperoid  appearance.  It  contains 
an  abundance  of  small  fossils  which  have  not  yet  been  deter- 
mined. 

No.  10  is  to  be  seen  here,  also,  immediately  overlying 
No.  9. 

A good  exposure  of  No.  11  is  on  the  top  of  the  hill  on 
-Sec.  7,  T.  21  N.,  R.  17  E.  Other  exposures  occur  along  the 
section  line  westward.  It  seems  to  be  absent  on  Dog  Creek, 
two  miles  northeast  of  Claremore. 

No.  13  is  exposed  along  Dog  Creek  two  or  three  miles 
northeast  of  Claremore.  It  may  be  regarded  as  not  improb- 
able that  this  sandstone  is  oil-bearing  farther  west  along  its 
dip. 

No.  14  underlies  the  city  of  Claremore.  Its  relatively 
homogeneous  character  gives  rise  to  the  broad  flat  valley 
which  is  delimited  on  the  east  by  the  sandstone  just  mention- 
ed and  on  the  west  by  the  escarpment  formed  by  the  Clare- 
more formation. 

Stratigraphy : Much  work  remains  to  be  done  on  this 
formation.  At  present  the  writer  is  strongly  of  the  opinion 
that  subsequent  study  will  show  it  to  be  composed  of  at  least 
four  units.  These  will  probably  be  a lower  shale,  a massive 
sandstone,  a succession  of  shales  and  sandstones,  and  upper 
shale.  Lenses  of  limestone,  other  than  those  of  the  above  sec- 
tion are  not  lacking.  Usually  such  beds  are  highly  fossilifer- 
ous  and,  collectively,  will  no  doubt  furnish  an  abundant  fauna. 
Beds  of  coal  are  also  to  be  found  but  further  work  is  necessary 
to  show  their  position  and  value.  One  lies  a few  feet  beneath 
the  Claremore  formation. 

I cannot  agree  with  Siebenthal  in  saying  that  in  the  Coal- 
gate  and  Atoka  quadrangles  “These  9,000  feet  of  Pennsyl- 
vanian shales  and  sandstones  is  represented  at  the  Kansas  line 
by  a thickness  of  but  500  feet  of  Cherokee.”  (14)  Assuming 


15 


the  verity  of  his  correlation  of  the  Fort  Scott  of  Kansas  with 
the  Calvin  sandstone  of  Coalgate  quadrangle,  still  his  state- 
ment is  probably  not  correct ; for  the  relation  of  the  Vinita  for- 
mation to  the  Mississippian  below  is  for  the  most  part,  at  least, 
one  of  overlap.  (15)  Thus  as  one  follows  the  Mississippian- 
Pennsylvanian  contact  line  southward  and  eastward  from  the 
Kansas  line,  successively  older  formations  appear  from  be- 
neath those  overlying.  At,  most,  then,  the  Cherokee  shales 
can  be  the  equivalent  of  only  a part  of  the  9,000  feet  of  Penn- 
sylvanian sediments  near  Coalgate. 

Correlation:  As  has  been  said,  sufficient  detailed  work 
has  not  been  done  on  the  Vinita  formation  to  warrant  many 
precise  statements.  Plowever,  on  the  principle  of  continuity, 
the  Vinita  is  believed  to  be  roughly  the  equivalent  of  the 
Cherokee  shales  of  Kansas,  but,  as  noted  above,  the  upper 
limit  of  the  Cherokee  lies  somewhat  above  that  of  the  Vinita. 
This  point  will  be  noted  again  under  the  succeeding  formation. 

To  the  south  the  Vinita  formation  is  the  approximate 
equivalent  of  the  Winslow  and  Boggy  formations  of  the  Mus- 
kogee quadrangle  and  of  certain  higher  unnamed  formations 
exposed  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Okmulgee  quadrangle. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  relation  of  the  Vinita  to  the 
subjacent  formations  is  one  of  overlap,  it  is  probable  that  the 
base  of  the  former  in  its  southern  extension  is  older  than  that 
of  the  Cherokee  of  Kansas. 

TULSA  GROUP 

This  group  includes  all  the  rocks  between  the  base  of  the 
Claremore-Calvin  formation  and  that  of  the  Lenapah  lime- 
stone. It  consists  of  several  well  defined  and  mapable  units 
to  which  the  following  names  are  applied : Claremore  forma- 
tion, Labette  shales,  Oologah  formation,  and  Nowata  shales. 
These  will  be  taken  up  in  succession. 

Claremore  Formation 

Lying  above  the  Vinita  formation  is  a succession  of  lime-7 
stones  and  shales,  with  a single  sandstone  of  prominence,  and 
two  or  more  beds  of  coal.  For  this  formation  the  name  Clare- 
more is  proposed.  As  here  defined,  it  includes  all  strata  be- 
tween the  subjacent  Vinita  formation  and  the  overlying  La- 
bette shales.  From  a consideration  of  the  stratigrahy  and 

14.  Bui.  340,  U.  S.  G.  S..  1908,  p.  191. 


15.  Bui.  260,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  PI.  I.  p.  382. 


16 


lithology  it  forms  a well-defined  unit.  The  name  is  from  the 
town  of  Claremore  where  the  formation  is  well  exposed  and 
typically  developed. 

Area:  The  Claremore  formation  outcrops  over  a belt 
running  southwwest  from  the  Kansas  line  near  Chetopa  and 
varying  in  width  from  one  mile,  or  even  less,  to  ten.  This 
belt  extends  past  the  vicinity  of  Centralia  and  thence  to  the 
westward  of  Chelsea.  From  here  to  near  Catoosa  it  lies  large- 
ly between  the  Frisco  railway  and  the  Verdigris  River.  Here 
the  strike  changes  to  nearly  north-south  and  the  belt  extends 
to  Broken  Arrow  and  southward  to  the  Arkansas  River. 
The  eastward  limit,  especially  to  the  northward,  is  usually 
well  defined,  the  basal  limestone  being  usually  found  at  or  near 
the  top  of  the  escarpment  already  mentioned.  The  westward 
limit  is  not  so  obvious  but  it  can  usually  be  easily  traced. 
Small  streams  are  working  slowly  down  the  westward  dip  of 
the  uppermost  limestone.  By  observing  these  closely  the  con- 
tact may  be  determined  with  considerable  readiness. 

Thickness:  The  thickness  of  the  Claremore  formation  is 
variable.  At  Claremore  it  is  about  50  feet.  But  this  is  prob- 
ably less  than  the  average  for  the  formation ; thicknesses  of 
135  feet  have  been  reported  by  Wolf.  But  where  measure- 
ments were  made  the  surface  usually  had  been  removed  so 
that  the  average  thickness  probably  exceeds  the  figures  given. 

Stratigraphy:  Typically  this  formation  consists  of  a lower, 
a middle  and  an  upper  limestone,  with  intervening  clastic  sedi- 
ments and  coal.  The  interval  between  the  lower  and  middle 
limestones  is  mostly  shale.  A well-defined  and  persistent  bed 
of  sandstone  lies  a few  feet  below  the  middle  limestone  and  is 
an  excellent  guide  in  mapping.  It  weathers  to  yellow  or  buff 
and  the  lower  limestone  can  always  be  found  some  15  feet  be- 
low it.  Perhaps  a good  section  would  show  the  interval  be- 
tween the  middle  and  upper  limestones  to  be  mostly  shale 
also ; but  good,  sharp  exposures  are  lacking  so  that  one  is 
compelled  to  estimate  the  relative  thickness  of  shale  and  sand- 
stone. 

The  following  section  was  made  by  Wolf  and  the  writer 
three  miles  west  of  Claremore,  beginning  at  the  base  of  the 
formation  which  is  to  be  seen  in  contact  with  the  Vinita  in  the 
ravine  about  one-fourth  mile  north  of  the  school  house.  The 
section  was  made  along  the  public  highway  and  while  the 
thicknesses  and  successions  here  given  may  not  be  correct  in 
detail,  they  are  sufficiently  accurate  to  give  a fair  representa- 
tion of  the  stratigraphy  of  the  formatin  in  this  region  : 


Inches 


Feet 

10.  Massive,  fossiliferous  limestone,  top  eroded 


in  front  of  school  house 5 3 

9.  Carbonaceous  shale,  seen  at  cross  roads. ...  2 6 

8.  Cherty  limestone,  weathering  to  yellowish, 

spongy,  siliceous  fragments,  fossils  abundant  2 8 

7.  White,  massive,  fossiliferous  sandstone.  ...  4 8 

6.  Shale 5 6 

5.  Hard  sandstone  2 

4.  Shale 21  6 

3.  Chert,  giving  polygonal  fragments  on  sur- 
face   ! 4 

2.  Shale,  weathering  to  a buff 10 

1.  Massive,  bluish,  fossiliferous  limestone 3 


48  3 

Vinita 

The  chert  of  No.  3 of  the  above  section,  makes  another 
very  convenient  horizon  marker  and  is  of  prime  importance  to 
one  tracing  the  lower  limit  of  the  formation.  The  cherty  frag- 
ments are  usually  very  abundant  on  the  surface  and  their  ex- 
tremely dark  or  even  jet  color  serves  to  distinguish  them  at 
sight. 

The  three  principal  limestones  of  the  Claremore  formation 
give  rather  abundant  chert  on  the  surface  w'here  sufficiently 
weathered.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Pawnee,  Oolagah  and 
Lenapah  above.  Limestones  above  the  last  mentioned  gener- 
ally give  much  less  chert  on  weathering  but  aside  from  the 
color  and  abundance  of  the  chert  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Clare- 
more  formation,  I know  of  no  reliable  lithologic  feature  that 
will  serve  to  distinguish  the  several  limestones  of  this  horizon. 
In  its  northward  extension,  even  the  lower  Claremore  does 
not  give  this  characteristic  chert,  but  it  is  a constant  feature 
for  many  miles  north  and  south  of  the  latitude  of  the  town  of 
Claremore. 

Correlation:  As  already  indicated,  the  base  of  the  Clare- 
more is  believed  to  lie  below  that  of  the  Fort  Scott  of  Kansas, 
while  the  upper  limestone  of  the  Claremore  is  thought  to  be 
the  equivalent  of  the  upper  of  the  Fort  Scott  limestones.  As- 
suming the  correctness  of  both  ideas,  the  Claremore  would 
be  the  equivalent  of  the  Fort  Scott  limestone  and  the  upper 
most  part  of  the  Cherokee  shales  of  Kansas. 

Labette  Shales 

The  term  Labette  was  first  used  by  Adams  for  shales 
which  in  Kansas  lie  immediately  above  the  Fort  Scott  lime- 


18 


stone  and  below  the  Pawnee  limestone.  These  shales  ex- 
tend south  from  Kansas  into  Oklahoma  and  are  as  sharply 
defined  in  the  latter  state  as  in  the  former.  As  used  in  this 
paper,  the  term  Labette  applies  to  100  feet  or  more  of  shales 
which  lie  above  the  Claremore  formation  and  below  the  Oola- 
gah,  of  which  the  Pawnee  limestone  or  its  southern  extension 
is  the  lower  member.  Both  above  and  below,  therefore,  they 
are  sharply  delimited  by  limestones. 

Area:  The  Labette  shales  occupy  generally  the  topo- 
graphic depression  between  the  limestones  just  mentioned.  As 
shown  on  the  map,  they  extend  in  a broad  belt  southward  from 
the  Kansas  line  along  the  waters  of  Big  Creek  in  the  Vinita 
quadrangle  as  far  as  the  latitude  of  Nowata.  From  this  point 
southward,  the  Verdigris  River  flows  along  the  line  of  their 
outcrop  as  far  approximately  as  Catoosa,  where  the  river  turns 
sharply  to  the  eastward,  while  the  outcrop  of  shales  continues 
southward  past  Broken  Arrow  to  the  Arkansas  River.  Beyond 
this  stream  the  eastern  limit  is  traceable  by  a limestone,  prob- 
ably the  upper  of  the  three  mentioned  in  the  discussion  of  the 
Claremore  formation.  This  has  been  followed  far  to  the  south- 
ward by  Hutchison  and  others.  It  appears  at  Wealaka  Mis- 
sion. Farther  to  the  southward  the  limestone  disappears  and 
the  horizon  is  occupied  by  sandstone. 

The  width  of  the  belt  occupied  by  the  shales  varies  with- 
in rather  wide  limits,  being  in  some  places  very  narrow,  es- 
pecially when  their  outcrop  is  confined  to  the  west  bank  of 
streams.  Not  infrequently,  however,  larger  areas  lie  to  the 
eastward  of  Big  Creek  and  the  Verdigris  River,  being  separat- 
ed from  each  other  by  incisions  made  by  smaller  streams. 

Thickness:  The  thickness  of  the  Labette  shales  in  Kan- 
sas was  said  by  Bennett  to  vary  between  30  and  80  feet.  (16) 
Haworth  and  Bennett  later  (17)  give  the  variation  as  between 
20  feet  on  the  north  side  of  the  Marmaton  River,  near  Fort 
Scott,  and  60  feet  a few  miles  west  of  that  city.  Near  the 
Kansas  line,  the  thickness  appears  to  be  only  a few  feet.  A 
decrease  in  thickness  is  likewise  noted  in  Kansas  along  the 
dip  to  the  westward.  (18) 

As  a whole,  these  shales  are  thicker  in  Oklahoma  than  in 
Kansas.  From  a few  feet  near  the  Kansas  line,  they  thicken 


16.  Univ.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  Vol.  I,  1896,  p.  91. 


17.  Univ.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  Vol.  IX,  1908,  p.  83. 


18.  Uni.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  Vol.  Ill,  1898,  p.  36. 


19 


rapidly  to  the  southward,  although  this  increase  is  by  no 
means  regular  or  constant,  thinning  sometimes  taking  place. 
Wolf  and  the  writer  ascertained  the  thickness  to  be  137  feet 
on  Claremore  Mound,  a few  miles  northwest  of  Claremore. 
From  the  log  of  a well  about  two  miles  north  of  Albright’s 
store  near  Coody’s  Bluff,  the  thickness  would  appear  to  be 
about  200  feet  and  Hutchison  states  in  his  unpublished  work 
that  to  the  southward  the  thickness  continues  to  increase. 

Stratigraphy:  A fairly  constant  stratigraphic  feature  of 
the  Labette  shales  is  a sandstone  which  lies  in  the  upper  part. 
This  is  perhaps  best  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  Coody’s  Bluff, 
where  it  has  a considerable  thickness,  which  increases  to  the 
southward.  Everywhere  along  its  extent  this  sandstone  serves 
admirably  as  a guide  in  marking  approach  to  the  upper  limit  of 
the  formation.  Usually  it  is  fine  grained  and  of  a yellowish 
or  buff  color.  With  this  exception  all  the  beds  are  shales. 

Correlation:  The  correlation  of  the  Labette  with  the 
Kansas  section  is  perhaps  as  simple  as  that  of  any  other  for- 
mation in  the  lower  Pennsylvanian  of  the  region.  Few  fos- 
sils have  been  found  and  these  have  not  been  determined  but 
the  data  at  hand  show  that  the  Labette  as  here  defined  is  prac- 
tically the  equivalent  of  the  Kansas  formation  of  the  same 
name.  It  should  be  clearly  understood,  however,  that  with 
this,  as  with  other  formations  here  discussed,  sufficient  data 
are  not  at  hand  to  make  final  satements  cm  correlation ; but 
that  here  given,  will,  in  the  judgment  of  the  writer,  eventu- 
ally prove  in  the  main  correct. 

Oologah  Formation 

The  Oologah  formation  includes  all  rocks  lying  above  the 
Labette  shales  and  below  the  Nowata  shales.  The  term  was 
first  used  by  Drake  (19)  for  the  massive  limestone  so  well 
exposed  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Verdigris  River  at  Oologah 
and  known  as  the  “Big  Lime”  among  drillers.  The  name  has 
also  been  used  by  Adams,  Siebenthal  and  others. 

Area:  Just  south  of  the  Kansas  line  the  Oologah  forma- 
tion occupies  a belt  about  ten  miles  wide,  but  this  width  de- 
creases southward  along  the  west  bank  of  Big  Creek  to  the 
Verdigris  River  northeast  of  Nowata.  From  here  to  the 
southern  limits  of  the  Nowata  quadrangle  it  occupies  a nar- 
row band  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  but  near  Oologah  the 
western  limit  recedes  and  the  belt  becomes  some  six  or  seven 
miles  wide  opposite  Claremore  and  near  Catoosa ; narrows 
again  northwest  of  Broken  Arrow  and  so  continues  to  the 


19.  Proc.  Am.  Phil.  Soc.,  VoL  XXXVI,  1897,  p.  377. 


20 


Arkansas  River.  Near  this  stream  the  limits  of  the  formation 
are  poorly  defined,  the  limestone  giving  way  to  shales  and 
sandstones  which  can  be  separated  from  those  above  and  be- 
low only  with  difficulty.  The  lines  on  the  accompanying  map 
are  largely  hypothetical  south  of  Broken  Arrow. 

Thickness:  The  thickness  of  the  Oologah,  by  measure- 
ment, in  the  type  locality  is  about  100  feet.  This  is  approxi- 
mately the  same  as  that  given  by  well  logs  in  the  region.  Ex- 
posures northwest  of  Nowata  show  80  feet,  the  upper  part  be- 
ing removed  by  erosion,  while  at  the  Kansas  line  a thickness 
of  about  145  feet  is  shown. 

Stratigraphy:  The  stratigraphy  of  the  Oologah  forma- 
tion presents  some  interesting  and  unique  features.  Near 
Oologah  the  whole  is  a succession  of  bluish,  cherty  limestone 
beds,  separated  by  thin  bands  of  black,  fissile  shale.  Except 
where  exposures  are  sharp,  however,  the  shale  cannot  be  de- 
tected and  the  whole  may  be  regarded  as  a limestone.  Near 
Broken  Arrow  the  surface  fragments  show  a considerable 
content  of  silica,  and  these  fragments  may  be,  and  have  been, 
mistaken  for  sandstone,  the  buff  color  being  common  in  the 
sandstones  of  the  region. 

Near  Talala  the  limestone  is  split  by  a black,  fissile,  car- 
bonaceous shale,  which  is  well  seen  on  Talala  Creek  just  east 
of  the  railroad.  This  shale  thickens  slowly  to  the  northward 
and  is  seen  to  be  continuous  with  the  Bandera  shale  of  Kan- 
sas. This  feature  of  a limestone  splitting  to  the  northward  is 
unique  in  the  region  and  was  first  discovered  by  Adams  who 
says:  (20)  “From  the  vicinity  of  Oologah  the  formation  was 
traced  northeastward  to  the  Kansas  line.  It  is  conspicuous 
along  the  Verdigris  east  of  Nowata  all  the  way  to  the  Kansas 
line.  In  this  interval  there  are  two  limestones  separated  by 
an  interval  of  shale  which  thickens  northward  until  it  is  ap- 
proximately 100  feet  on  the  head  of  Big  Creek.  The  upper 
member  of  the  limestone  was  determined  by  Bennett  to  be  the 
equivalent  of  the  lower  member  of  the  Parsons  formation,  as 
mapped  and  defined  by  Adams.  The  equivalency  of  the  lower 
member  of  the  Oologah  has  not  been  definitely  determined.  It 
is  not  impossible  that  it  may  prove  to  be  a continuation  of  the 
Pawnee/’ 

The  writer  finds  that  Adams  was  correct  in  thinking  the 
lower  limestone  to  be  the  continuation  of  the  Pawnee  of  Kan- 
sas. It  makes  a prominent  escarpment  along  the  west  bank 
of  Big  Creek  and  is  the  lower  of  the  two  making  the  bluff 


20.  Bui.  211,  U.  S.  G.  S.„  1903,  p.  62. 


21 


along  the  Verdigris  from  Nowata  to  Oologah.  It  is  a hard, 
massive,  bluish  limestone,  with  a rather  high  content  of  silica 
and  yields  abundant  chert  fragments  on  weathering.  The 
thickness  is  fairly  constant  being  usually  about  30  feet,  while 
that  of  the  Pawnee  in  Kansas  varies  between  8 and  52  feet. 
(21)  Such  variation  in  Kansas  is  said  to  be  due  to  erosion  of 
the  upper  surface,  but  this  has  not  been  observed  in  Oklahoma. 

The  shale  lens,  as  already  stated,  increases  in  thickness 
from  nothing  at  Oologah  to  about  100  feet  at  the  Kansas  line. 
Four  miles  northeast  of  Nowata  the  following  section  of  the 
entire  formation  was  made : 


6.  Bluish  limestone  2 to  10  feet 

5.  Bluish  to  black  shale 35  feet 

4.  Massive,  fine-grained  limestone 6 feet 

3.  Black,  carbonaceous,  fissile  shale 5 feet 

2.  Bluish  limestone,  shaly  in  lower  part 14  feet 

1.  Black  shale,  base  not  seen 11  feet 


In  the  above  section  No.  1 is  the  top  of  the  Labette.  Nos. 
2,  3,  and  4 are  the  lower  or  Pawnee  limestone.  No.  5 is  the 
Bandera  lens,  while  No.  6 is  the  lower  part  of  the  upper  lime- 
stone of  the  formation,  the  upper  part  having  been  removed  by 
erosion. 

The  shale  lens  is  fairly  homogenous  throughout.  It  is 
generally  a blue  or  black  clay  shale,  slightly  arenaceous  in 
places  and  is  greenish  or  somewhat  yellowish  on  weathering. 
Sharp  exposures  are  rare,  fragments  of  the  superjacent  lime- 
stones usually  effectually  concealing  it.  The  exposure  north- 
east of  Nowata  shows  an  abundance  of  an  undetermined 
species  of  a brachiopod  of  the  Streptorhynchus  type.  Other 
than  these  the  writer  knows  of  no  fossils  from  this  shale  in 
Oklahoma. 

The  upper  part  of  the  northern  extension  of  the  Oologah 
is  continuous  with  the  Altamont  (Lower  Parsons)  of  Kansas 
and  the  latter  name  has  hitherto  applied  to  it  in  Oklahoma. 
It  forms  an  escarpment  west  of  that  caused  by  the  lower  part 
of  the  formation  and  is  separated  from  it  a half  mile,  more  or 
less.  As  the  intervening  shale  thins  to  the  south,  the  two  es- 
carpments coalesce.  Where  the  two  are  distinct,  the  outcrop 
of  the  upper  part  varies  in  width  from  one  half  to  three  miles 
in  the  northwest  part  of  the  Vinita  quadrangle,  to  about  two 
and  one  half  miles  opposite  Watova.  Near  Nowata  it  con- 


21.  Haworth  and  Bennett,  Univ.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  Vol.  IX, 
1908,  p.  83. 


22 


spires  with  the  lower  part  to  form  the  prominent  bluff  along 
the  river. 

The  nomenclature  of  the  continuation  of  this  bed  in  Kan- 
sas is  in  a somewhat  confused  state.  It  was  designated  the 
Altamont  limestone  by  Adams.  (22)  Later  that  author  called 
it  the  Parsons  limestone  and  said  that  it  consists  of  two  dis- 
tinct ledges.  (23)  Evidently  he  changed  the  name  because 
“The  Altamont  limestone  is  not  well  exposed  in  the  vicinity 
of  Altamont.” 

Schrader  and  Hawprth,  in  1906,  adopted  the  nomenclature 
of  Adams’  later  work  and  described  under  the  name  Coffey- 
ville  a thick  series  of  heterogeneous  strata  lying  above  the 
Upper  Parsons.  (24)  (25) 

Still  later  Haworth  and  Bennett  (26)  returned  to  the 
name  Altamont  as  applying  to  the  lower  part  of  Adams’  Par- 
sons limestone,  while  to  the  upper  part  they  applied  the  term 
Coffeyville.  Adams  held  that  the  two  limestones  unite  to  the 
northeastward  while  Haworth  and  Bennett  maintained  that 
they  do  not,  but  are  separate  and  distinct  entirely  across  the 
corner  of  the  State. 

The  thickness  of  the  Altamont  in  Kansas  is  given  as  “no- 
where more  than  10  feet.”  (28)  Previously,  Schrader  and 
Haworth  (29)  had  given  15  feet  as  the  thickness  in  the  Inde- 


22.  Kan.  Univ.  Geol.  Sur.,  Vol.  I,  1896,  p.  22. 


23.  Bui.  211,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1903,  p.  33. 


24.  Bui.  296,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1906,  p.  16. 


25.  Note:  It  is  obvious  that  the  term  Coffeyville  as  used  by 
Haworth  and  Bennett  can  not  hold  since  it  was  previously  used  in  a 
vastly  different  sense  by  Schrader  and  Haworth.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  term  Walnut,  which  the  former  authors  apply  to  the  shales 
immediately  overlying  the  Altamont.  The  name  is  pre-occupied  in 
the  Austin  folio. 


26.  Univ.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  Vol.  IX,  1909,  p.  85. 


27.  Ib.,  p.  87. 


28.  Haworth  and  Bennett,  Univ.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  Vol.  IX,  1908, 

p.  85. 


29.  Bui.  296,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1906,  p.  16. 


23 


^pendence  quadrangle.  The  latter  figure  represents  the  aver- 
age thickness  in  the  northern  extension  in  Oklahoma,  but  this 
increases  southward  till,  as  it  coalesces  with  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Pawnee,  it  is  not  less  than  thirty  feet. 

The  fauna  of  the  Oologah  formation  is  less  prolific  than 
that  of  the  equivalents  in  Kansas.  However,  in  both  lime- 
stones, brachiopods  and  corals  are  fairly  abundant.  Represen- 
tative collections  have  been  made  by  A.  C.  Reeds,  but  a criti- 
cal study  has  not  been  made.  The  shale  lens,  as  above  noted, 
contains,  as  far  as  known,  only  a few  fossils.  A closer  study 
may  reveal  others. 

Correlation:  The  correlation  of  the  Oologah  has  already 
been  indicated.  Until  a critical  study  of  the  fauna  is  made  it 
is  to  be  regarded  as  the  equivalent  of  the  Pawnee,  Bandera 
and  Altamont  (Lower  Parsons)  of  Kansas. 

Nowata  Shales 

Lying  above  the  Oologah  formation  and  constituting  the 
highest  beds  of  the  Tulsa  Group,  is  a series  of  shales  with  a 
few  interstratified  sandstones  and  at  least  one  bed  of  coal,  for 
which  the  name  Nowata  shales  is  here  proposed.  The  name 
is  from  the  town  of  Nowata  where  the  shales  are  widely  ex- 
posed and  well  developed.  It  is  used  by  Hutchison  in  his  un- 
published work. 

Area:  Near  the  Kansas  line  and  east  of  the  Verdigris 
River,  the  Nowata  shales  occupy  but  a narrow  band  between 
the  escarpments  of  the  subjacent  and  superjacent  limestones. 
They  also  occupy  irregular  areas  along  Snow,  Crow  Hollow 
and  Cedar  creeks,  generally  lying  on  the  slopes  of  elevations 
which  are  capped  by  the  Lenapah  limestone.  West  of  the 
Verdigris  they  are  first  seen  near  the  mouth  of  Hickory  Creek 
three  miles  north  of  Lenapah,  where,  as  shown  on  the  map, 
they  occupy  but  a narrow  zone.  The  width  of  the  outcrop  at 
Nowata  is  two  miles  or  more;  is  greater  at  Watova,  and  in. 
the  vicinity  of  Talala  is  five  miles.  In  the  Claremore  quad- 
rangle the  width  is  still  greater,  the  area  being  the  most  con- 
spicuous in  the  quadrangle.  East  of  Tulsa,  it  is  eight  miles, 
and  not  less  than  ten  at  the  Arkansas  River. 

This  belt  is  a broad,  flat  plain  whose  monotony  of  surface 
is  broken  occasionally  by  the  effect  of  thin  sandstones.  South 
of  Nowata  the  belt  is  united  with  that  formed  by  the  shales 
lying  near  the  base  of  the  Sapulpa  Group,  the  Lenapah  lime- 
stone offering  but  feeble  resistance  to  erosion. 

Thickness:  The  Nowata  shales  in  their  northward  ex- 
tension in  Oklahoma  are  probably  less  than  50  feet  thick,  al- 
though Siebenthal  gives  the  thickness  as  55  feet  near  Coffey- 


24 


ville.  At  Nowata  the  drill  shows  that  the  thickness  has  in- 
creased to  130  feet.  This  increase  continues  until  at  Tulsa  it 
is  about  600  feet  and  probably  still  greater  south  of  the  Ar- 
kansas River. 

For  the  most  part  the  Nowata  shales  have  no  lithologic 
feature  which  is  not  possessed  by  others  of  the  region.  They 
generally  are  bluish  or  greenish  in  color,  but  give  almost  al- 
ways, on  weathering,  a soil,  green  or  buff  according  to  the 
stage  of  oxidation  of  the  iron.  They  are  essentially  clay  shales 
but  not  infrequently  are  highly  arenaceous. 

Stratigraphy:  The  stratigraphy  of  the  Nowata  shales  is 
simple.  The  lower  part  is  almost  wholly  a mass  of  shale. 
Near  Oologah  a massive  sandstone  about  three  feet  thick  lies 
about  35  feet  above  the  base.  This  makes  a well  marked 
scarp  which  can  be  traced  for  a considerable  distance  along 
the  strike. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  mouth  of  Rabb  Creek  other  sand- 
stones make  noticeable  escarpments  but  sufficient  data  are 
not  at  hand  to  say  whether  they  are  more  than  mere  local 
lenses. 

One  of  the  most  persistent  stratigraphic  features  of  the 
Nowata  shales  is  a bed  of  coal.  The  most  northernly  point 
at  which  it  was  observed  by  the  writer  is  about  midway  be- 
tween Talala  and  Watova  and  two  miles  west  of  the  railroad. 
From  here  southward,  its  outcrop  follows  a sinuous  course 
passing  just  west  of  Talala  and  three  miles  west  of  Oologah. 
Outcrops  are  frequent  near  Collinsville  where  the  coal  is  min- 
ed, as  well  as  in  the  vicinity  of  Coal  Creek  and  near  Dawson 
whence  it  is  usually  called  the  Dawson  coal. 

In  its  northward  extension  the  coal  lies  about  100  feet 
above  the  top  of  the  Oologah  limestone,  or  about  the  middle 
of  the  Nowata  shales,  and  maintains  this  relative  position 
somewhat  persistentty.  Hence  its  outcrop  lies  about  midway 
between  those  of  the  Oologah  and  Lenapah  limestones. 

The  coal  is  from  20  to  30  inches  thick  and  seems  to  ex- 
tend far  to  the  southward  of  the  Arkansas  River  as  shown  by 
Taff.  (30) 

Correlation:  The  Nowata  shales  are  at  present  to  be  cor- 
related with  the  Walnut  shales  of  Kansas.  Whether  the 
former  are  the  exact  equivalent  of  the  latter,  paleontological 
evidence  must  determine.  But  the  limestones  which  limit  the 
Nowata  above  and  below  are  continuous  with  those  which  de- 
rnark  the  Walnut  shales  in  Kansas. 


30.  Bui.  260,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1905,  pp.  396,  397. 


25 

SAPULPA  GROUP 

The  name  Sapulpa  Group  was  proposed  by  Gould,  Ohern 
and  Hutchison  for  those  rocks  which  in  Oklahoma  lie  between 
the  base  of  the  Lenapah  limestones  and  the  lower  limit  of  the 
Pawhuska  formation  as  that  term  was  used  by  T.  P.  Smith. 

(31). 

The  area  of  this  group  is  about  40  miles  in  width  and  oc- 
cupies a trapezoidal  region  covering  all  of  Washington  and 
a large  part  of  Nowata,  Rogers  and  Tulsa  counties  and  the 
eastern  half  of  the  Osage  Nation.  The  western  part  of  this 
area  lies  beyond  the  region  under  discussion.  In  the  eastern 
part  the  writer  finds  it  impossible  to  adopt  any  line  that  can 
be  readily  followed  in  the  field  from  the  Kansas  line  to  the 
Arkansas  River.  The  limestones  and  sandstones  are  lenticu- 
lar, the  former  thinning  out  in  both  directions  and  the  latter 
disappearing  to  the  north.  For  this  reason  the  only  feasible 
plan  for  this  discussion  seems  to  be  to  consider  the  northern 
and  southern  parts  separately;  and  inasmuch  as  final  publi- 
cations will  in  all  probability  be  in  folio  form  it  seems  best  to 
let  the  latitude  of  the  Nowata-Claremore  quadrangle  line  be 
the  approximate  line  of  division  between  these  arbitrarily  con- 
structed parts.  Fortunately,  the  situation  in  the  field  makes 
this  line  a somewhat  natural  one.  Two  limestones  are  con- 
fined to  the  north  of  it  and  a third  to  the  south,  all  serving 
admirably  as  limits  of  mapable  units.  The  northern  of  these 
two  areas  will  be  considered  first. 

THE  NORTHERN  AREA 
Lenapah  Limestone 

The  term  Lenapah  limestone  is  here  proposed  for  a con- 
spicuous limestone  which  lies  at  the  base  of  the  Tulsa  group, 
occupying  the  interval  between  the  Nowata  shales  and  the 
Curl  formation.  The  name  is  from  the  town  of  Lenapah  in 
Nowata  county  where  the  limestone  is  typically  developed  and 
widely  exposed. 

Area:  The  area  occupied  by  the  Lenapah  limestone  lies, 
near  the  Kansas  line,  entirely  east  of  the  Verdigris  River. 
Making  as  it  does  a dip  slope,  the  width  of  outcrop  is  here 
out  of  proportion  to  the  thickness  of  the  bed.  It  is  the  cap 
rock  of  most  of  the  hills  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  Nowata 
quadrangle.  West  of  the  river  the  first  exposure  worthy  of 
note  is  on  Hickory  Creek  three  miles  north  of  Lenapah.  East 


31.  Jour.  Geol.  Vo],  II,  1894,  p.  199. 


26 


of  this  town  it  is  widely  exposed.  Thence  it  extends  to  Dela- 
ware and  south  to  Nowata' where  it  is  to  be  seen  capping  the 
bluff  in  the  west  part  of  the  town.  Most  writers  speak  of  it 
as  disappearing  here  but  the  writer  and  his  assistants  suc- 
ceeded in  tracing  it  to  Tulsa.  However,  south  of  Nbwata  its 
area  is  a mere  line  as  shown  on  the  map,  and  while  the  ex- 
posure is  by  no  means  continuous,  enough  outcrops  can  be 
seen  to  map  it  with  considerable  accuracy.  In  the  southern 
part  of  the  Nowata  quadrangle  it  is  seen  west  of  Rabb  Creek 
and  on  both  banks  of  Buck  Creek. 

Thickness:  In  southern  Kansas  the  thickness  of  the  equi- 
valent of  the  Lenapah  is  given  as  8 to  10  feet.  (32)  In  north- 
ern Oklahoma  it  is  not  less  than  20  feet.  This  is  the  approxi- 
mate thickness  in  the  quarry  3 miles  north  of  Lenapah.  At 
Nowata  this  thickness  has  decreased  to  about  6 or  8 feet. 
South  of  Nowata  a thickness  of  more  than  30  inches  has  not 
been  observed  and  this  is  maintained  with  little  variation  to 
Tulsa  and  beyond.  Considering  its  thickness  this  limestone 
is  remarkable  for  persistency. 

The  lithologic  character  of  the  Lenapah  is  very  constant. 
It  is,  when  unaltered,  a dense,  blue,  partly  crystalline  lime- 
stone, usually  containing  an  abundance  of  fossils,  especially 
of  brachiopods.  On  weathering  it  gives  little  or  no  chert,  thus 
differing  markedly  from  similar  beds  below  it. 

Stratigraphy:  The  stratigraphy  may  be  summed  up  in 
the  statement  that  the  limestone  consists  of  a single  bed.  In 
the  northern  part  of  the  Nowata  quadrangle  there  are  a few 
inconspicuous  beds  of  shale  but  south  of  Nowata  these  are 
absent. 

Correlation:  All  data  at  hand  go  to  show  that  the  Lena- 
pah limestone  is  the  approximate  equivalent  of  the  Upper 
Parsons  of  Adams  and  of  Schrader  and  Haworth  in  Kansas, 
which  is  the  Coffeyville  of  Haworth  and  Bennett.  (33)  What 
the  equivalency  beyond  Coffeyville  is,  I shall  not  attempt  to 
say,  as  the  synonymy  is  in  deplorable  shape  and  each  succeed- 
ing contribution  seems  to  contribute  to  the  difficulty  rather 
than  to  its  solution. 

Curl  Formation 

Lying  above  the  Lenapah  limestone  is  a series  of  shales 
and  sandstones  for  which  the  name  Curl  formation  is  here 
proposed,  the  name  being  taken  from  Curl  Creek  in  the  Nowa- 


32.  Haworth  and  Bennett,  Univ.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  Vol.  IX,  p.  87 


33.  Univ.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  Vol.  IX,  1908,  p.  87 


27 


ta  quadrangle  along  which  the  formation  is  well  exposed  and 
typically  developed.  It  applies  to  all  strata  lying  above  the 
Lenapah  and  below  the  Hogshooter  limestone. 

Area : The  area  occupied  by  the  Curl  formation  averages 
about  6 miles  in  width,  the  maximum  being  10  miles.  It  ex- 
tends in  a broad,  conspicuous  band  from  the  Kansas  line  near 
Coffeyville  south  and  somewhat  west  past  Lenapah,  Dela- 
ware, Nowata  and  Oglesby  to  the  west-central  part  of  the 
Nowata  quadrangle. 

Thickness:  The  thickness  of  the  Curl  is  not  easy  to  as- 
certain on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  determining  the  precise 
dip  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  lack  of  faith  in  the  interpretation 
of  well  logs  on  the  other.  However,  careful  estimates  give  a 
thickness  of  about  300  feet  from  the  northern  Oklahoma  line 
south  to  the  latitude  of  Nowata  or  somewhat  beyond.  In  the 
southern  part  of  the  Nowata  quadrangle  the  thickness  seems 
to  be  somewhat  in  excess  of  this  figure.  These  estimates 
would  indicate  that  the  formation  has  about  the  same  thick- 
ness as  the  equivalents  in  Kansas. 

Stratigraphy:  The  lower  part  of  the  Curl  formation  is  a 
mass  of  homogeneous  clay  shale  of  bluish  or  greenish  color. 
On  weathering  the  usual  yellow  or  greenish  soil  results,  cov- 
ering vast  flat  areas  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  belt  described 
above. 

In  the  upper  part  of  the  formation  sandstones  appear  just 
south  of  the  Kansas  line  and  increase  in  thickness  southward. 
These  conspire  with  the  Hogshooter  limestone  to  form  the 
prominent  scarp  which  lies  at  or  near  the  western  limit  of  put- 
crop.  It  is  probable  that  there  is  but  one  of  these  sandstone 
beds  which  is  seemingly  only  a few  feet  thick ; but  because  of 
its  massiveness,  the  abundance  of  fragments  and  topographic 
effect  are  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  thickness  of  the  bed.  In 
the  southern  part  of  the  Nowata  quadrangle  the  sandstones 
are  present  but  inconspicuous,  partly  owing  to  the  thinning 
out  of  the  Hogshooter  limestone. 

Correlation:  The  Curl  formation  is  continuous  with  those 
formations  which  in  Kansas  lie  between  the  top  of  the  Par- 
sons of  Adams  (Coffeyville  liuiestone  of  Haworth  and  Ben- 
nett) and  the  base  of  the  Drum.  These  formations  are,  Pleas- 
anton shales,  Bethany  Falls  limestone,  Ladore  shales,  Mound 
Valley  limestone,  Galesburg  shales,  Dennis  limestone,  Cher- 
ryvale  shales.  (34)  These  or  their  equivalents  comprise  the 
Coffeyville  formation  of  the  Independence  quadrangle.  (35) 


34.  Haworth  and  Bennett,  Loc.  cit.  p.  88  et  seq. 


The  lower  part  of  the  Drum  of  Kansas  being  continuous  with 
the  Hogshooter  of  Oklahoma,  the  Curl  formation  must  be 
considered  tentatively  the  equivalent  of  the  above  formations. 

Wann  Formation 

The  term  Wann  formation  is  proposed  for  a series  of 
shales,  sandstones  and  limestones  which  occupy  the  interval 
between  the  top  of  the  Curl  formation  and  that  of  the  Stanton 
limestone  as  that  term  is  used  by  Haworth  and  Bennett.  (36) 
It  is  the  youngest  formation  in  the  Nowata  quadrangle  with 
the  exception  of  some  small  areas  which  will  not  be  discussed. 
It  is  composed  of  three  members,  the  Hogshooter  limestone 
member,  the  Copan  member  and  the  Stanton  limestone  mem- 
ber. 

Hogshooter  Limestone  Member 

This  name  is  proposed  for  the  limestone  which  lies  im- 
mediately above  the  Curl  formation  in  the  Nowata  quad- 
rangle. The  name  is  from  Hogshooter  Creek  along  whose 
west  bank  the  limestone  is  well  exposed. 

Area:  The  area  occupied  by  the  Hogshooter  limestone 
enters  Oklahoma  from  Kansas  about  two  miles  v/est  of  Cof- 
feyville.  It  re-enters  that  state  several  times  before  crossing 
Opossum  Creek.  Thence  it  continues  as  a narrow  band  south 
to  a point  opposite  Delaware.  In  the  northeast  corner  T.  26  N., 
R.  14  E.,  it  spreads  over  a wide  area,  making  a dip  slope  west- 
ward to  Hogshooter  Creek  and  continuing  down  the  west 
bank  of  that  stream.  It  crosses  Caney  River  3 miles  northeast 
of  Ochelata  and  e xtends  due  south  to  Ramona.  Here  it  may 
be  seen  in  the  railroad  cut  at  the  section  line  south  of  the  vil- 
lage. It  is  traceable  to  the  southern  limits  of  the  quadrangle 
but  has  not  been  positively  identified  beyond.  Near  Ramona 
it  is  so  thin  that  its  area  is  a mere  line. 

Thickness:  The  thickness  of  the  Hogshooter  at  the 
state  line  is  about  10  feet.  (37)  To  the  southward  it  thins 
slowly,  being  6 or  8 feet  along  Hogshooter  Creek  and  4 feet 
at  Ramona.  At  the  extreme  southern  limits  of  the  Nowata 
quadrangle  it  is  not  over  3 feet  and  is  thin  bedded.  In  the 
valley  of  Opossum  Creek  it  is  almost  wholly  concealed  by 
fragments  of  the  sandstone  above,  but  careful  search  always . 
reveals  its  presence. 

35.  Schrader  and  Haworth,  Bui.  296,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1906,  p.  14. 


36.  Loc.  cit.  p.  104. 


37.  cf.  Schrader  and  Haworth,  Bui.  296,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1906,  p.  14. 


29 


Stratigraphy : The  Hogshooter  consists  essentially  of  a 
single  bed  of  limestone.  This  in  its  northern  extension  is 
heavily  bedded  and  massive  but  to  the  southward  it  is  thin 
bedded  and  argillaceous.  Usually  fossils  are  fairly  abundant. 

Correlation:  Considerable  confusion  exists  as  to  the 

identity  of  the  Drum  of  Kansas  in  Oklahoma,  no  less  than 
four  different  limestones  in  the  latter  State  having  been  cor- 
related with  it.  Careful  detailed  mapping  shows  that  the  Hog- 
shooter, as  here  defined  and  as  shown  on  the  map,  is  continu- 
ous with  the  lower  part  of  the  Drum.  The  upper  part  so  far 
as  known  disappears  just  south  of  the  Kansas  line.  This  point 
will  again  be  taken  up  under  the  discussion  of  the  Dewey 
limestone  lentil. 


Copan  Member 

Lying  between  the  Hogshooter  and  Stanton  limestones 
is  a thick  succession  of  shales,  heavily  bedded  sandstones  and 
limestone  lentils  of  which  two  are  very  conspicuous.  For  this 
series  the  name  Copan  is  proposed  from  the  town  of  that  name 
in  the  vicinity  of  which  the  member  is  widely  exposed.  The 
name  is  not  intended  to  apply  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Nowata 
quadrangle. 

Area:  Near  the  Kansas  line  the  Copan  beds  outcrop  over 
an  area  about  12  miles  wide.  The  extreme  width  is  not  due  to 
thickness  alone  but  also  to  the  fact  that  for  about  two-thirds 
of  the  distance  the  beds  form  essentially  a dip  slope  westward 
to  Little  Caney  River.  Should  the  western  limit  be  prolonged 
into  the  Pawhuska  quadrangle  the  width  of  the  outcrop  would 
probably  be  less.  From  Dewey  southward  the  Dewey  lime- 
stone lentil  breaks  the  monotonous  succession  of  shales  and 
sandstones.  The  member  occupies  practically  all  the  region 
around  Dewey,  Bartlesville,  Ochelata  and  Ramona. 

Thickness:  To  the  northward,  careful  measurements  of 
the  Copan  gave  a thickness  of  250  feet  feet  near  Wann.  This 
is  nearly  the  same  as  that  shown  in  drill  holes  farther  to  the 
southwest,  although  a slight  increase  is  shown.  It  is  about 
the  same  as  the  thickness  of  the  equivalents  in  Kansas.  (38) 

Stratigraphy:  In  the  vicinity  of  Wann,  the  Copan  beds 
show  considerable  thicknesses  of  fine-grained,  massive  sand- 
stones in  the  lower  part.  The  middle  part  is  largely  shale, 
which  is  well  exposed  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills  north  and  west 
of  the  village,  and  whose  chief  exposures  lie  between  Coon 
Creek  and  Little  Caney  River.  Three  miles  southeast  of 


38.  Schrader  and  Haworth,  loc.  cit.,  p.  12. 


30 


Wann  a bed  of  coal  about  14  inches  thick  was  observed  lying 
about  50  feet  above  the  Dewey  limestone  lens.  Massive  sand- 
stones are  prominent  along  Cotton  Creek  and  along  the  96th 
meridian  south  of  Bartlesville.  But  the  most  prominent 
stratigraphic  feature  is  certain  limestone  lentils  which  merit 
separate  discussion. 

Dewey  Limestone  Lentil 

The  most  striking  stratigraphic  feature  of  the  Copan  beds 
is  a lentil  of  limestone  which  is  continuous  and  prominent  from 
a point  two  miles  east  of  Wann,  south  and  west  to  and  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  Nowata  quadrangle.  The  name  is  from 
the  town  of  Dewey  where  the  limestone  is  admirably  exposed 
in  the  quarry  of  the  cement  plant. 

Where  first  seen,  in  the  center  of  Sec.  13,  T.  28  N.,  R.  14 
E.,  the  limestone  is  shaly  and  but  3 feet  thick.  Southward  it 
thickens  rapidly.  It  spreads  over  wide  areas  east  of  Dewey 
and  Bartlesville,  its  continuity  of  outcrop  being  broken  by 
the  streams  cutting  through  it  and  by  concealment  under 
isolated  areas  of  superjacent  shale.  Outcrops  are  conspicuous 
about  Bartlesville,  especially  at  the  bridge  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  city.  By  an  anticline,  the  outcrop  extends  south- 
west of  the  city  along  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  Rail- 
way to  and  beyond  the  96th  Meridian.  In  the  vicinity  of 
Caney  River  it  is  quite  concealed  beneath  alluvium.  South  of 
the  river  it  occupies  a narrow,  sinuous  band  along  Keeler 
Creek,  circles  east  of  Ochelata  and  is  well  exposed  in  North 
Fork  one  mile  south  of  town.  Continuing  to  the  latitude  of 
Ramona  it  unites  with  younger  sandstones  and  limestones  to 
form  the  prominent  escarpments  southwest  of  town. 

As  already  mentioned,  in  its  northern  extension  the  lens 
is  but  3 feet  thick ; at  the  cement  plant  at  Dewey  it  is  not  less 
than  20  feet,  the  upper  part  being  removed  by  erosion.  In  the 
vicinity  of  Ochelata  and  Ramona  it  is  about  15  feet  thick,  al- 
though accurate  measurements  are  difficult  to  obtain. 

The  Dewey  lens  is  a bluish,  semi-crystalline  limestone, 
usually  somewhat  shaly  but  often  massively  bedded.  On 
weathering  it  gives  surface  fragments  which  abound  in  seams 
of  calcite  which  resist  solution  more  effectually  than  the  non- 
crystalline mass.  Wherever  examined  the  Dewey  abounds  in 
fossils,  Campophyllum  torquium  being  especially  abundant. 
The  interval  between  the  Hogshooter  and  Dewey  increases 
from  50  feet  near  Wann  to  about  100  at  Ramona. 

More  confusion  exists  regarding  the  correlation  of  this 
limestone  with  others  of  the  region  and  of  Kansas  than  that  of 


31 


any  other  formation  in  the  area.  Gould  thought  it  continuous 
with  the  Drum,  (39)  as  did  also  Hutchison  in  his  unpublished 
work.  Siebenthal  believed  the  limestone  quarried  at  Dewey 
to  be  the  Piqua.  (40)  It  has  also  been  identified  with  the 
massive  limestone  at  Avant,  but  this  will  be  shown  later  to 
be  above  the  Dewey;  and  further,  the  limestone  at  Lost  City 
on  the  Arkansas  River,  6 miles  above  Tulsa  has  been  correlat- 
ed with  that  at  Dewey  and  Bartlesville.  This  also  is  incor- 
rect, for,  as  subsequently  shown,  the  limestone  at  Lost  City 
lies  far  below  the  horizon  of  the  Dewey. 

Bennett  was  the  first  to  discover  that  there  are  two  lime- 
stones in  the  region  east  of  Dewey.  But  he  thought,  after  a 
somewhat  hurried  reconnaissance,  that  the  upper  one  is  con- 
tinuous with  the  upper  part  of  the  Drum  of  Kansas.  It  is. 
however,  impossible  to  establish  any  physical  connection  be- 
tween the  two,  though  a faunal  study  may  show  such  relation- 
ship. At  present  the  writer  holds  that  the  Dewey  is  above  the 
horizon  of  the  upper  part  of  the  Drum. 

Avant  Limestone  Lentil 

The  term  Avant  limestone  is  here  given  to  a lentil  which 
lies  about  85  feet  above  the  Dewey  along  the  96th  meridian 
south  of  Bartlesville.  Certain  exposures  of  thin  limestone  in 
the  hills  about  5 miles  south  of  that  town  are  probably  the 
most  northerly  extension  of  the  lentil.  It  is  fairly  well  devel- 
oped in  the  three  hills  north  of  Ochelata  and  makes  bold  bluffs 
just  southwest  of  the  town  along  North  Fork.  The  two  hills 
south  of  town  are  due  to  a capping  of  the  limestone.  In  the 
extreme  southwest  part  of  the  quadrangle  and  in  contiguous 
territory  to  the  south,  it  caps  the  mesas  and  is  the  most  ef- 
fectual cliff-maker  along  the  valleys.  It  extends  west  alongt 
Bird  Creek  to  Avant,  whence  the  name.  Here  superb  ex- 
posures are  offered  and  the  typical  development  is  to  be  found. 
Its  southward  extension  will  be  given  under  the  discussion  of 
the  southern  part  of  the  area. 

Except  west  and  southwest  of  Ramona  as  just  noted,  the 
area  of  the  outcrop  is  a narrow  band,  so  narrow  that  it  is  a 
mere  line  on  the  map. 

In  its  most  northern  extension  this  limestone  is  only  a 
few  feet  thick,  but  at  Ochelata  it  is  about  20  feet  and  the 
thickness  increases  southwest  to  Avant  where  the  maximum 


39.  W.  S..  Paper,  148,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1905,  p.  31. 


40.  Bui.  340,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1907,  p.  195. 


32 


of  40  feet  is  attained  as  exposed  at  the  quarry  2 miles  south- 
east of  the  village. 

The  Avant  in  general  character  is  very  similar  to  the 
Dewey.  It  is  a semi-crystalline  limestone,  of  bluish  color,  often 
thin-bedded  to  the  north  but  near  Ramona  and  Avant  it  forms 
bold  precipitous  cliffs.  The  interval  between  tne  Avant  and 
the  Dewey  is  usually  about  85  feet  but  near  Ramona  it  is  less 
than  half  the  amount.  The  calcite  seams  so  abundant  in  sur- 
face fragments  of  the  Dewey  are  abundant  here  also.  Fos- 
sils, too,  are  quite  as  common. 

As  above  mentioned,  the  limestone  at  Avant  has  been  cor- 
related with  the  Dewey  and  with  the  Drum  of  Kansas.  Care- 
ful mapping,  however,  shows  these  three  are  quite  distinct 
each  from  the  others.  Nor  is  the  massive  limestone  at  Lost 
City  in  the  same  horizon.  A faunal  study  may  show  the  Avant 
to  be  related  to  one  of  the  numerous  ledges  in  Kansas  but  the 
data  at  hand  show  no  such  relationship. 

Other  Lentils 

North  and  northeast  of  Wann  are  numerous  exposures  of 
thin  beds  of  limestone  which,  so  far  as  known,  are  not  to  be 
correlated  with  others  of  the  region.  At  least  two  are  pres- 
ent, separated  by  an  interval  of  about  50  feet.  The  upper  is 
strikingly  oolitic,  making  in  this  respect  a sharp  contrast  with 
others  of  the  region.  The  lower  is  argillaceous  and  flaggy. 
Both  are  believed  to  be  local. 

Correlation:  If  the  writer  is  correct  in  correlating  the 
Hogshooter  with  the  lower  part  of  the  Drum  of  Kansas  and 
if,  as  indicated  below,  the  Stanton  of  the  writer  is  the  equiva- 
lent of  that  of  the  Kansas  geologists,  then  obviously  the  Copan 
is  the  equivalent  of  the  upper  part  of  the  Drum  limestone, 
Chanute  shales,  Iola  limestone,  Lane  shales,  Allen  limestone 
and  Vilas  shales. 

Stanton  Limestone  Member 

The  Stanton  limestone  of  Kansas  extends  several  miles 
into  Oklahoma  and  the  name  will  be  retained.  It  was  so 
named  by  Swallow.  (41)  Adams  introduced  the  term 
Piqua  (42)  and  this  name  was  retained  by  Schrader  and  Ha- 
worth for  the  Independence  quadrangle,  (43)  and  also  by  Sie- 


41.  Prelim.  Rep.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  1866,  p.  20. 


42.  Bui.  238,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1904,  p.  20. 


43.  Bui.  296,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1906,  p.  12,  and  Independence  folio. 


3:5 


benthal.  (44)  The  Kansas  Survey  returns  to  the  term  Stan- 
ton. (45) 

Area:  The  Stanton  limestone  outcrops  on  the  slopes  of 
the  hills  at  and  2 miles  west  of  Wann.  Due  north  of  the  vil- 
lage it  is  well  exposed  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills  at,  and  extend- 
ing three  miles  south  of,  the  state  line.  Four  miles  southeast 
of  Caney,  Kansas,  it  is  again  exposed  on  the  state  line  and  also 
one  mile  south  of  that  line  on  the  hill  just  east  of  the  .Santa 
Fe  railway.  Good  exposures  are  also  offered  on  the  four  hills 
2 miles  north  of  Copan.  But  the  best  exposures  in  the  region 
are  on  Twin  Mounds  3 miles  southeast  of  Copan  where  twelve 
feet  of  limestone  caps  the  hills.  Considering  that  these  hills 
are  so  conspicuous,  it  is  strange  that  no  mention  is  made  of 
these  exposures  in  the  literature. 

West  of  Little  Caney  Creek,  the  northernmost  exposure 
of  the  Stanton  is  seen  three  miles  south  of  the  state  line  and 
one  mile  west  of  the  creek,  alluvium  covering  it  north  of  this 
point.  It  extends  along  the  brow  of  the  bluff  south  4 miles, 
and  west  into  the  Pawhuska  quadrangle  in  the  middle  of  T. 
28  N.  The  bluff  re-enters  the  Nowata  quadrangle  south  of 
Caney  River  and  the  limestone  lies  somewhat  above  the  mid- 
dle of  the  slope.  The  peaks  3 miles  northwest  of  Bartlesville 
offer  sharp  exposures. 

Along  these  bluffs  the  fragments  of  superjacent  sand- 
stones usually  effectually  conceal  the  limestone  but  it  can  al- 
ways be  found  if  diligent  search  is  made. 

So  far  as  the  writer  knows,  the  Stanton  has  not  been  de- 
tected south  of  the  latitude  of  Bartlesville  and  it  probably  dis- 
appears near  the  last  point  named. 

The  exposures  of  this  limestone  have  thus  been  given 
somewhat  in  detail,  first,  because  it  has  sometimes  been  con- 
sidered as  not  extending  into  Oklahoma  and,  secondly,  because 
it  forms  the  most  convenient  horizon  marker  in  the  entire 
northwestern  part  of  the  Nowata  quadrangle. 

The  bluffs  along  the  96th  meridian  south  of  Sand  Creek 
are  due  to  ledges  lying  below  the  horizon  of  the  Stanton. 
Early  in  his  work,  the  writer  discovered  that  the  continuity 
of  the  bluff  south  of  Ochelata  to  Tulsa  and  beyond,  is  due  to 
successively  lower  ledges  which  develop,  become  cliff-makers 
and,  giving  way  to  others,  swing  to  the  westward.  C.  D. 
Smith,  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  pointed  out  to 


44.  Bui.  340,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1908,  p.  195. 


45.  Univ.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  Vol.  IX,  1908,  p.  104. 


34 


the  writer  that  the  same  situation  obtains  north  of  Ochelata  to 
the  Kansas  line.  This  peculiar  relationship  of  resistant  strata 
to  topography  has  been  the  chief  cause  of  several  erroneous 
correlations  of  limestones. 

Thickness:  The  Stanton  at  the  Kansas  line  is  said  to  be 
only  1 or  2 feet  thick.  (46)  The  writer  and  Wolf,  however, 
found  it  to  be  about  8 feet  and  fairly  constant.  On  the  Twin 
Mounds  it  is  more  than  12  feet,  the  upper  surface  having  been 
removed  by  errosion.  N'orthwest  of  Bartlesville  it  is  3 or  4 
feet. 

As  seen  in  Oklahoma,  the  Stanton  is  a massive,  bluish 
limestone  always  abounding  in  fossils.  It  gives  little  chert  on 
weathering.  Near  the  state  line  it  is  often  highly  arenaceous 
and  not  infrequently  oolitic.  Southward  it  becomes  argillace- 
ous and  flaggy. 

Correlation : The  Stanton,  as  above  discussed,  is  in  many 
places  continuous  with  exposures  in  Kansas.  The  writer  feels 
little  hesitancy  in  referring  all  exposures  above  given  to  a 
single  ledge.  The  physical  and  paleontological  characters  all 
point  to  this  and  there  is  but  little  doubt  that  a critical  study 
of  the  fauna  will  confirm  it. 

Higher  Rocks. 

As  shown  on  the  map,  small  areas  of  rocks  above  the 
Stanton  exist  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  Nowata  quad- 
rangle. These  are  chiefly  on  the  summits  of  the  hills  mention- 
ed in  connection  with  the  Stanton  limestone,  and  along  the 
96th  meridian  north  of  Bartlesville.  Since  quadrangle  limits, 
however,  are  only  incidental  in  this  discussion  and  since  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey  has  studied  the  continguous 
territory  to  the  west,  and  will,  no  doubt  publish  shortly,  it  is 
the  part  of  wisdom  as  well  as  of  courtesy  to  close  this  part  of 
the  discussion  with  the  Stanton. 

THE  SOUTHERN  AREA 

The  stratigraphy  above  the  Lenapah  limestone  and  be- 
tween the  Arkansas  River  and  a line  approximately  coincident 
with  the  Claremore-Nowata  quadrangle  line,  is  markedly  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  contiguous  territory  to  the  north.  Hence 
it  has  been  found  necessary  to  establish  different  formations. 

Skiatook  Formation 

The  term  Skiatook  formation  is  proposed  for  those  rocks 


46.  Schrader  and  Haworth,  Bui.  296,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1906,  p.  12. 


35 


which  lie  between  the  top  of  the  Nowata  shales,  or  the  base  of 
the  Tulsa  Group,  and  the  base  of  the  Ramona  formation.  This 
name  is  not  intended  to  apply  except  between  the  north  and 
south  limits  just  given.  The  name  is  from  the  town  of  Skia- 
took  in  the  northwest  part  of  Tulsa  County  wrhere  the  rocks 
outcrop  over  wide  areas.  Hutchison  used  the  name  in  his  un- 
published work  but  in  a slightly  different  sense. 

Area:  As  shown  on  the  map,  the  Skiatook  formation  oc- 
cupies a wide  zone  in  the  northwest  part  of  Tulsa  County  and 
extends  southwest  across  the  southeast  part  of  the  Osage  Na- 
tion to  the  Arkansas  River.  This  zone  is  5 miles  wide  on  the 
north  but  widens  rapidly  southwestward,  partly  owing  to  in- 
crease in  thickness  of  the  formation  and  partly  to  topography. 
The  streams  flow  approximately  along  the  line  of  dip,  and 
along  the  valleys  of  Bird  Creek  and  the  Arkansas  River  the 
zone  is  no  less  than  15  miles  wide,  but  much  less  on  the 
divides. 

Thickness:  In  the  northwestern  part  of  the  Claremore 
quadrangle  the  Skiatook  formation  has  a thickness  of  250  to 
300  feet.  But  along  the  Arkansas  River  it  is  probably  not  less 
than  500  feet  although  accurate  measurements  are  lacking. 
This  increase  southward  is  seemingly  due  to  the  thickening  of 
the  sandstones. 

Stratigraphy:  Lying  at  the  base  of  the  Skiatook  forma- 
tion is  a bed  of  dense,  massive,  bluish  limestone,  the  southern 
extension  of  the  Lenapah.  It  is  well  seen  in  the  railroad  cut 
one  mile  southwest  of  Vera;  in  several  places  on  Secs.  2 and 
17,  T.  21  N.,  R.  13  E. ; along  the  head  waters  of  Rock  Creek 
north  of  Tulsa;  at  the  triple  railway  crossing  in  the  northeast 
part  of  Tulsa;  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Arkansas  River  just 
w'est  of  the  Santa  Fe  bridge ; and  in  many  other  places,  though 
the  outcrop  is  by  no  means  continuous. 

The  greater  part  of  the  formation  is  composed  of  shale. 
A thickness  of  approximately  150  feet  lies  immediately  above 
the  Lenapah  limestone.  These  beds  outcrop  in  the  western 
part  of  the  broad  flat  plain  stretching  northeast  from  Tulsa, 
the  eastern  part  being  underlain  by  the  Nowata  shales.  In 
the  upper  part  of  the  Skiatook,  heavy  beds  of  sandstone  come 
in  and  thicken  enormously  from  north  to  south,  thus  throwing 
the  upper  contact  line  far  to  the  west.  These  sandstones  are 
exposed  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills  in  the  vicinity  of  Hillside 
where  the  surface  is  in  places  covered  with  boulders  of  con- 
siderable dimensions.  Across  the  valleys  to  the  southward 
the  sandstones  seem  less  prominent,  whether  from  decrease  in 
thickness  or  from  topographic  causes  does  not  appear.  But 


38 


south  of  these  streams  the  sandstones  thicken  at  an  astonish- 
ing rate  and  are  very  massive,  making  bold,  rugged  cliffs  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  Osage  Nation  toward  Tulsa.  Ex- 
posures along  the  Arkansas  River  show  no  less  than  three  of 
these  sandstones.  In  the  hills  to  the  north  of  the  river  single 
beds  85  feet  thick  are  exposed. 

A very  prominent  feature  of  the  stratigraphy  of  the  Skia- 
took  is  a limestone  lens  which  is  best  exposed  at  Lost  City 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Arkansas  river  6 miles  above  Tulsa. 
Here  a thickness  of  40  feet  is  shown  at  the  quarry.  On  the 
north  bank  of  the  river  the  writer  did  not  see  any  exposures, 
alluvial  deposits  covering  the  slope  to  a considerable  height 
above  the  present  river  bed,  but  Hutchison  reports  its  pres- 
ence. To  the  northward  the  limestone  thins  rapidly.  On  the 
Tulsa  Road  8 miles  northwest  of  the  city,  it  is  but  6 feet  thick 
and  about  the  same  in  the  hills  6 miles  north.  The  upper  part 
in  these  latter  places  is  essentially  a crinoidal  limestone.  In 
the  hills  just  mentioned  the  limestone  is  almost  always  con- 
cealed by  fragments  and  boulders  of  a massive  sandstone 
which  lies  a few  feet  above  it. 

As  previously  noted,  this  limestone  has  been  correlated 
with  the  Avant,  the  Dewey  and  the  Drum.  To  attempt  a cor- 
relation with  data  at  hand  is  hazardous  to  say  the  least.  It 
seems  on  stratigraphic  grounds  to  lie  at  about  the  horizon  of 
the  Hogshooter  but  any  further  statement  would  be  a mere 
guess. 

Correlation:  Until  paleontological  data  are  secured  for 
the  correlation  of  the  Dewey  limestone,  that  of  the  Skiatook 
can  be  given  only  in  general  terms.  Evidence  at  hand  indi- 
cates that  the  Skiatook  is  the  equivalent  of  the  Lenapah  lime- 
stone, Nowata  shales,  Hogshooter  limestone  and  the  lower 
50  feet  more  or  less  of  the  Copan,  of  the  northern  part  of  this 
region.  Of  the  Kansas  section,  then,  it  is  roughly  the  equiva- 
lent of  the  Coffeyville  limestone,  Pleasanton  shales,  Bethany 
Falls  limestone,  Ladore  shales,  Mound  Valley  limestone, 
Galesburg  shales,  Dennis  limestone,  Cherrydale  shales,  Drum 
limestone  and  50  feet  more  or  less  of  the  Chanute  shales.  (47) 

RAMONA  FORMATION 

The  name  Ramona  is  here  applied  to  those  strata  which 
lie  between  the  top  of  the  Skiatook  formation  and  that  of  the 
Avant  limestone.  The  name  is  from  the  town  of  Ramona  in 


47.  Haworth  and  Bennett,  Univ.  Geol.  Sur.  of  Kan.,  Vol.  IX. 
1908,  pp.  87-98.  | 


37 


the  southwest  part  of  Washington  County.  In  the  hills  just 
southwest  of  the  town  superb  exposures  are  to  be  seen  and 
here  the  formation  exhibits  its  typical  development. 

Area : In  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  Claremore 
quadrangle  the  Ramona  formation  shows  its  widest  outcrop. 
In  the  hills  the  superjacent  strata  have  been  removed  and  the 
upper  limestone  member  caps  many  of  the  mesas,  while  the 
middle  shale  lies  on  the  slopes  and  the  lower  limestone  at  or 
near  the  base.  The  outcrop  thence  extends  as  a narrow  band 
westward  to  Avant.  The  limestones  of  the  formation  should 
here  not  be  confused  with  others  of  which  there  are  several 
and  which  occur  higher  up.  After  crossing  Bird  Creek  the  out- 
crop extends,  as  a mere  ribbon  but  sharply  defined,  southwest 
to  the  bluffs  on  either  side  of  the  Arkansas  River  one  mile 
west  of  Wekiwa.  The  low  dip  causes  the  outcrop  to  extend 
far  up  the  river,  the  point,  of  crossing  not  being  known,  but 
it  is  probably  not  far  from  the  mouth  of  the  Cimarron  River. 
On  account  of  lack  of  adequate  maps,  no  attempt  was  made 
at  detailed  mapping  in  the  Osage  Nation. 

Stratigraphy:  The  Ramona  formation  consists  of  three 
members,  a lower  and  an  upper  limestone  and  intervening 
shales  and  sandstones.  The  limestone  members  are  continu- 
ous with  the  Dewey  and  Avant  lenses,  respectively,  of  the 
northern  part  of  the  region  and  the  names  will  be  retained. 
Since  the  beds  are  constant  concomitants  they  are  best  dis- 
cussed together. 

From  a point  about  one  mile  west  of  Skiatook  southwest 
to  the  Arkansas  River,  the  formation  makes  a well  defined  es- 
carpment. The  Dewey  limestone  usually  lies  at  the  base  and 
the  Avant  at  or  near  the  top.  The  best  exposures  in  the  south- 
ern extension  are  to  be  seen  north  of  the  school  house  of  dis- 
trict number  52;  here  the  Dewey  makes,  in  Rock  Creek,  a 
beautiful  little  cataract  known  as  Limestone  Falls,  while  the 
Avant  is  conspicuously  exposed  in  the  bluff  one-half  mile  fur- 
ther north.  The  former  has  in  this  vicinity  a thickness  of  6 
feet  to  8 feet.  It  is  frequently  highly  arenaceous  and  can,  in 
several  places,  be  seen  lying  immediately  on  the  sandstone  of 
the  Skiatook.  The  Avant  member  is  about  12  feet  thick  on  an 
average  but  this  thickness  decreases  southward.  An  almost 
constant  lithologic  feature  is  its  highly  ferruginous  aspect. 
Frequently  large  red  boulders,  which  contrast  sharply  with 
associated  rocks,  can  be  seen  adorning  the  slopes.  This  fer- 
ruginous character  is  mostly  only  superficial.  Both  the  lime- 
stones and  especially  the  Avant,  carry  abundant  fossils,  some 
being  of  a distinctly  Permian  aspect. 


38 


The  term  Ochelata,  from  the  town  in  southern  Washing- 
ton County,  is  applied  to  the  middle  member  of  the  Ramona 
formation.  It  consists  largely  of  shale  but  a persistent  sand- 
stone, varying  in  thickness  from  5 to  12  feet,  lies  somewwhat 
above  the  middle  of  the  shale.  The  thickness  of  the  whole 
member  is  about  85  feet  on  an  average ; but  west  of  Ramona  it 
is  but  20  feet. 

Thickness:  The  total  thickness  of  the  Ramona  is  not  far 
from  100  feet.  Several  measurements  north  of  Hillside  gave 
approximately  this  figure,  and  the  southern  extension  varies 
but  little  from  this. 

Correlation:  In  the  absence  of  paleontological  data  an 
attempt  at  a correlation  is  hazardous.  However,  a few  re- 
marks of  an  extremely  general  nature  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

If,  as  above  noted,  the  Skiatook  includes  some  50  feet  of 
the  Chanute  shales,  then  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  Ramona 
may  be  the  equivalent  of  the  remainder  of  the  interval  to  the 
top  of  the  Allen  limestone  of  the  Kansas  section.  Further,  it 
may  be  regarded  as  not  improbable  that  the  Dewey  may  be 
eventually  correlated  with  the  Iola,  and  the  Avant  with  the 
Allen. 


CORRELATION 

In  the  discussion  of  the  several  formations,  the  correla- 
tion of  each  has  been  indicated.  The  grounds  upon  which 
these  correlations  have  been  made  are : continuity,  similarity 
of  stratigraphic  sequence  and  lithologic  similarity.  The  lime- 
stones are  usually  very  fossiliferous  but  the  fossils  have  not 
been  studied.  It  remains,  therefore,  to  be  seen  whether 
paleontological  criteria  will  confirm  correlations  made  on 
other  grounds.  Moreover,  lithologic  character  being  variable, 
one  is  dependent  almost  wholly  upon  criteria  afforded  by  con- 
tinuity and  similarity  of  sequence.  To  speak  of  continuity  is 
to  speak  of  that  of  the  limestones.  In  field  operations  the  con- 
tinuity of  one  of  these  beds  being  established,  that  of  associa- 
ted clastic  rocks  is  taken  as  a consequence. 

The  attached  table  gives  a summary  of  correlations,,  both 
with  the  Kansas  sections  and  those  made  by  various  workers 
in  Oklahoma.  While  it  is  not  to  be  hoped  that  future  investi- 
gations will  necessitate  no  change,  the  writer  believes  that 
the  major  features  will  prove  to  be  correct.  In  the  construc- 
tion of  the  correlation  table,  free  use  has  been  made  of  in 
the  Independence  folio.  . * 


39 


CONDITIONS  OF  SEDIMENTATION  AND  SOURCE 
OF  SEDIMENTS 

It  has  been  shown  above  that  shales  comprise  by  far  the 
greater  part  of  the  sediments  of  the  region.  The  few  fossils 
contained  in  them  are  marine.  These  shales  thicken  to  the 
southward  and  eventually  give  way  to  sandstones. 

As  shown  by  Gould,  Ohern  and  Hutchison,  (48)  there  are 
fewer  limestones  in  Northern  Oklahoma  than  in  southern 
Kansas.  Of  those  herein  discussed  few  extend  to  the  Arkan- 
sas River  and  only  one  or  two  beyond.  All  cariy  marine  fos- 
sds. 

The  sandstones  show  a very  pronounced  thickening  to 
the  southward.  Many  show  abundance  of  ripple  marks  and 
other  evidences  of  shallow  water  conditions.  Those  in  the 
Wann  and  Ramona  formations  frequently  carry  remains  of 
marine  organisms.  Fossils  are  abundant  in  sandstones  just 
above  the  youngest  formations  just  described. 

The  presence  of  coal  and  carbonaceous  shales  shows 
swamps  or  shallow  water.  The  fact  that  these  coal  beds,  al- 
though thin,  are  usually  of  considerable  extent  along  the 
strike,  shows  that  the  conditions  under  which  the  coal  accu- 
mulated obtained  over  considerable  areas. 

From  these  and  other  considerations  it  is  evident  that  the 
sediments  accumulated  in  shallow  sea  and  possibly  on  tidal 
flats.  Rapid  alternations  of  shales,  limestones  and  sandstones, 
as  exemplified  in  the  Claremore  formation,  show  frequent 
minor  changes  of  conditions,  probably  caused  by  oscillations 
of  the  sea  bottom. 

The  thinning  of  the  limestones,  the  striking  development 
of  the  arenaceous  constituents,  the  thickening  of  the  whole 
series  to  the  southward  points  to  land  in  that  direction. 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  however,  that  there  is  a greater  total 
thickness  of  limestone  in  an  east-west  zone  some  25  miles 
wide,  whose  northern  limit  runs  approximately  from  Dewey 
to  Nowata  and  beyond,  than  there  is  at  the  Kansas  line.  This, 
however,  does  not  invalidate  the  general  statement  that  lime- 
stones thin  southward. 

Tafif  has  shown  (49)  that  early  in  Pennsylvanian  time  the 
Arbuckle  mountains  were  uplifted  and  were  subjected  to  eros- 
ion till  after  the  beginning  of  Permian  time.  The  term  Ar- 
buckle Mountains  should  not  be  understood  as  applying  mere- 


48.  This  series  No.  3. 


49.  Folio  No.  98,  U.  S.  G.  S,  1903,  P.  P.  31,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  1901. 


40 


ly  to  the  restricted  area  now  standing  above  the  surrounding 
plain.  The  whole  uplift  is  tilted  gently  southeastward  and  the 
extension  is  concealed  in  that  direction  by  Cretaceous  sedi- 
ments. How  far  the  area  subjected  to  erosion  in  late  Palozoic 
time  extends  beneath  these  later  sediments  it  is  impossible  to 
say.  But  all  evidence  points  to  a considerable  land  mass  in 
the  present  southern  Oklahoma  and  northern  Texas.  In  dis- 
cussing the  Pennsylvanian  and  Permian  Red  Beds  of  Oklaho- 
ma Beede  remarks  that  “The  Arbuckle  and  Wichita  mountains 
are  probably  the  source  of  much  of  the  red  sediment,  in  which 
they  are  partially  buried,  and  the  former  mountains  are  di- 
rectly responsible  for  the  eastern  extension  of  those  beds  into 
central  Oklahoma.”  (50)  I see  no  reason  for  thinking  the  un- 
derlying lighter  colored  sediments  came  from  a different 
source.  At  the  same  time  it  may  be  questioned  whether  the 
land  mass,  as  it  is  believed  to  have  existed,  was  large  enough 
to  supply  the  enormous  thicknesses  of  shales  and  sandstones 
deposited  in  central  Oklahoma  and  northern  Texas  in  Penn- 
sylvanian time.  This  point  gains  force  when  it  is  remember- 
ed that  as  Pennsylvanian  time  went  on,  the  area  of  denuda- 
tion was  gradually  lessened  by  encroaching  sea. 

If  the  Arbuckle  mountains  were  the  source  of  these  beds, 
and  if  the  lower  limit  of  the  Oklahoma  Red  Beds  has  been 
correctly  mapped  (51)  one  would  expect  that  the  line  would 
lie  at  successively  lower  stratigraphic  levels  when  followed 
southward.  Such,  however,  seems  not  to  be  the  case.  On  ap- 
proaching the  mountains,  the  line  seems  to  rise  stratigraphi- 
cally.  Personally  I think  there  is  considerable  evidence  in 
support  of  the  view  that  much  of  the  Pennsylvanian  sediments 
of  central  Oklahoma  were  laid  down  in  a large  estuary  whose 
axis  lay  well  to  the  north  of  the  Arbuckle  mountains.  Suffi- 
cient information  is,  however,  not  at  hand  to  substantiate  this 
statement. 


50.  Jour.  Geol.  Vol.  XVII,  1909,  p.  714. 


51.  See  this  Series  No.  3,  PI.  L 
University  Geological  Laboratory,  April  20,  1910. 


EASTERN  KANSAS. 
3WALL0W,  1808. 


StantoD  limestone  series: 
Sianton  llnestone.  No.  181; 
ihsles;  sandstone;  and  coal 


Marais  do  Cygnes  Coal  8erles 


Bethany  Falls  llmestoue,  No.  100. 


series. 

Fort  Scott  coul  serlos. 


TABLE  OF  FORMATION  NAMES,  SOUTHEASTERN  KANSAS  AND  NORTHEASTERN  OKLAHOMA. 


Lower  Carboniferous. 


SOUTHEASTERN  KANSAS. 
HAWORTH  AND  KIRK.  1894. 
Carlyle  limestone. 

Leroy  shales. 

Carlyle  limestone. 


Chanuto  shales. 


Sandstone. 

Shale. 


Oimefto  limestone.  Shale. 

I Limestoi 

Cherokee  shalos. 
Mlilli.lpplnn.  | P,l,n* 


Garnett  limestone  (T). 

loin  Inn.- .tori.- 
'I  liny.-r  -.IimI.-m, 


Thayer  shales, 
lola  limestone. 
Thayer  shales. 


SOUTHEASTERN  KANSAS. 
HAWORTH.  1898. 


Limestone. 

Shale. 

AltimontCf)] 

Bethany  Fall 


shIKea 

Osweilo 

limestone. 


Chorokee  shalos. 
Misslsslpplan. 


I Limestone. 
iSlinlr 

ILJi 


NORTHEASTERN  | SOUTHEASTERN  KANSAS. 
DRAKE.  1897. 


HAWORTH.  1898. 


Garnett  limestone. 


Pottawatomie 


I Erie  limestone. 


Pleasanton  shales. 


Pawnee  limestone. 
Labette  shales. 

] Oswego  limestone. 


SOUTHEASTERN  KANSAS. 
Adams.  Girty  and  White  1903. 


Vilas 

shales. 

Earlton 


Independence 

limestone. 

Cherryvaie 

shales. 

Independence 

limestone. 

Cherryvaie 

shales. 

Mound  Valley 


Mound  Valley 

shale. 

Limestone. 


Cherokee  shales. 

Mississippian  or  sub-Carbcniferou9. 


Stanton  limestone. 


Drum  limestone. 
Cherryvaie  shales. 


Galesburg  shales  (T) 

Dennis  limestone. 

Galesburg  shales. 

Hertha  limestone. 

Dudley  shales. 

Upper  Parsons 


| Bandera  shales. 

| Pawnee  limestone. 


Fort  Scott  limestone. 
Cherokee  shales. 


IOLA  QUADRANGLE, 

Adams,  Haworth  and  Crane,  1904. 


Piqua  limestone. 
Vila9  shale. 
Allen  limestone. 
Concreto  shale. 
Iola  limestone. 


I Bronson 
limestone. 


| Pawnee  limestone. 
lLabette  shale. 

■Fort  Scott  limestone, 
jeherokee  shale. 

[Boone  formation. 


INDEPENDENCE  QUADRANGLE. 
Schrader  and  Haworth,  1907-8. 


Dennis  llmestono. 
Galesburg  shule 

Moupd  Valley 
limestone. 

Ladtfre  shale. 

Hertha  limestone 


Wilson  formation. 


Drum  formation. 


Piqua  limestone. 
Vilas  shale. 
Allen  limestone. 
Concreto  shale. 
Iola  limestone. 


Cherryvaie  shale. 
Dennis  limestone. 
Galesburg  shale. 


Parsons  formation.  Shale. 

I Lower 

Bandera  shale. 

! Pawnee  limestone. 
jLabette  shale. 

Fort  Scott  limestone. 
(Cherokee  shale. 


NORTHEASTERN  OKLAHOMA. 
NORTHERN  AREA. 


Avant  limestone 


Dewey  limestone 


lentil. 
Hogshooter  limestone  i: 


Lenapah  limestone. 
Nowata  shale. 


:to  shale. 
Claremoro  formation. 
Vinita  formation. 


OHERN.  1910. 

SOUTHERN  AREA 


Avant  limestone 


Sklatook  formation. 


(Lenapah  limestone). 
Nowata  shale. 


Claremore  formation. 
Vinita  formation. 

Boone  limestone. 


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